Future Ready Economic Resilient Skills Development

At SEARCH, we see skills as the foundation of resilience. Since 2007, we have worked with partners such as NAVTTC, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Program (BBSYDP), Women Development Department, and the Youth Affairs Department of Sindh to equip young people and women in Tharparkar with practical, market-driven, and future-ready skills. Through these collaborations, more than 400 rural youth have been trained in diverse trades including tailoring, beautician services, computing, office automation, plumbing, and solar panel repair. In 2022–23 alone, 200 youth—most of them women—completed vocational training with NAVTTC and Women Development Department support, receiving toolkits and mentoring to begin their own businesses or enter the job market. Innovation in delivery has also been central to our approach. With the Youth Affairs Department, SEARCH introduced Mobile Skills Development Units across five districts, including Tharparkar and Umerkot, offering short-term practical courses in IT, first aid, teaching, and trades directly within villages. In addition, through NTS and Education Department recruitment exams, we facilitated IT and assessment support for more than 18,000 candidates in Tharparkar and 9,000 in Mirpurkhas, strengthening pathways into public-sector employment. By combining technical training, startup support, and entrepreneurial mentoring, SEARCH ensures that youth and women in Tharparkar are not only employable but also capable of building economic resilience in the face of climate, market, and social challenges.