LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz launched Punjab’s first PIVOT programme in Lahore on 30 October 2026. The programme aims to promote industry, digital growth and skilled employment in Punjab, placing skills and technology at the heart of the province’s employment agenda. The programme’s goal is to equip young people with modern technology and education, so that they can take up skilled work and build careers in a changing economy. By linking education with modern technology, the programme seeks to prepare young people for work in industry and in digital fields, and to strengthen skilled employment across Punjab. Punjab’s workforce is 36 million people, a scale that underlines why skilled employment is central to the programme. Within that workforce, 400,000 skilled workers are ready, and 600,000 more are planned to be trained. The focus on training reflects the programme’s aim to expand skilled employment and to give young people the modern technology and education they need for industry and digital growth. Under Asaan Karobar, loans of around Rs200 billion have been issued, supporting industry and employment in Punjab. More than 200,000 people have received NOCs and permits, a step that supports business activity and the wider push for industry, digital growth and skilled employment. Together, the loans and the permits point to an approach that combines support for industry with investment in skills and technology. The launch in Lahore therefore brings together the programme’s central themes: industry, digital growth and skilled employment. For young people, the emphasis is on modern technology and education. For Punjab, the emphasis is on building a skilled workforce that can support industry and digital growth, while the support available under Asaan Karobar helps people move from training and permits towards work and business activity. As the programme moves forward, its stated aim remains clear: to promote industry, digital growth and skilled employment in Punjab, and to equip young people with modern technology and education for skilled work. Photo: Maryam Nawaz Sharif in a Voice of America interview (17 July 2019), public domain via Voice of America. This is NOT a photo of the PIVOT launch event. Sources: 24 News, NewsGuru.