National Job Portal for CPEC -Connecting Skills with Opportunities

The mega CPEC project aims to connect western China with Gwadar through the network of infrastructure including highways, railways, and pipelines. This corridor is an extension of “Belt and Road initiative (BRI) an idea emerged from East Asia viably changing the notion of “Globalizaion” into a more reliable practice to connect the world. With an investment of $62 billion, CPEC is a ‘flagship project’ which is heading towards closure of its ‘early harvest’ projects including infrastructure, energy projects, Gawadar port and industrial cooperation. In this regard, the establishment of CPEC Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is a growth strategy for promoting employment, trade and uplift economic growth of a country5. According to ILO, CPEC is estimated to create 400,000 jobs to the country while Applied Economic Research Centre (AERC) has estimated that the mega initiative would provide around 700,000 direct jobs. The Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform shows even more promising results, with CPEC generating around 800,000 jobs in the next 15 years. Pakistan is about to gain a lot from these opportunities as there would also be a noteworthy increase in the annual economic growth of the country6. In 2018, the unemployment rate in Pakistan has been reported as 5.9%, out of which 10.4% youth is estimated to be unemployed, resulting in poverty, economic crisis, corruption, and declining socioeconomic status. CPEC is not only providing job opportunities but also transmiting a trickle down effect to the lower strata of the economy, hence, improving its living standard sustainably.