ONE of the reasons behind increasing rate of unemployment among the youth is their low entrepreneurial inclination and the prevailing job-seeking culture.

Youths need not be dependant on the limited career-oriented jobs in public and private enterprises but should rely on their own ability to create avenues for self-employment. For that they require to be groomed for the economic challenges that would face in self-employment.

Shahid Ahmad Khan, a post-graduate of commerce with M. Phil in business, initially strived hard to get a job in any government department, but failed. He was rejected for lack of experience or for failing to produce the domicile certificate of the required province, but most of the time, for not having the recommendation of the elite.

Finally, he sacrificed his degree at the altar of merit and with no alternative left, much against his will, accepted an ordinary position in a small firm engaged in garment exports.. Looking after theaccounts of the firm, he earned barely enough to keep the body and the soul together. But, because of his basic instinct for trade and commerce, he advised his comparatively in-experienced employer Lateef Shah how to increase exports. The advice worked and Lateef’s business flourished.

Shahid gained the confidence of his employer and got a chance to look after the over all business.

This gave him an ample idea of the trade. He had the acumen, studied the pros and cones of the trade and when he realised that he was fully conversant with garment business, he sought permission of his boss, and resigned from his job. With a little help from a financial institution he set up his own business.

Shahid is now an entrepreneur. He adroitly has set up his business of garments in Karachi; owns a garment factory in the industrial zone of Federal ‘B’ Area, Karachi, and is exporting readymade garments and apparels to the United States and Canada.

No doubt, he had to pass through rigours in the beginning, but soon attained success. Now his garment factory has scores of workers.

He visits the United States and Canada at least two times a year in the summer and winter to meet his buyers, to discuss business and settle the accounts. His two sons are studying in a business school in Karachi and he wants them to join his trade.

To a question, Mr Shahid said: “As job opportunities in the private and public sectors are not keeping pace with the fast growing youth population , an entrepreneurial culture is needed to create opportunities of self-employment for them.”

“The other reason of dwindling job opportunity is the adoption of high technology and modern machines by big local and multi-national firms that reduces their dependence on ordinary non-technical workforce and increasing demand for high-tech persons and professionals.

“It has been observed that during the last several years mostly in the West and to some extent in our country also, there has been a tendency among the highly educated and skilled workforce to shun the opportunity of long-term career-oriented jobs with post-retirement benefits. They prefer signing contracts for short-term engagements with better emoluments.”

Munawwar Khalid, a post-graduate from one of the best institutions in the country, says he never hankered for a conventional long-time career-oriented job. He has opted for an education-related career and is engaged in teaching on part-time basis in various institutions in Karachi.

He says he is never short of pedagogic assignments and is earning many times more than what he would have earned as a fulltime employee in any government office or in any private company. Munawwar belongs to lower middle-class, but his great going would soon lead him to the echelon of middle and high-middle class. “Any career with pension benefits would have taken a very long time to put me in the present position,” he says.

Many companies mostly multinationals prefer offering jobs for aspecific post for a precise period of time on contract instead of offering employment on permanent basis.

Munawwar is not only satisfied with his teaching assignments but has also set up education centres on commercial lines to coach the needy students and has thus generated job opportunities for his fellow friends to supplement their income.

There is yet another style of self-employment. Farhan Khan was pressured by a multinational to accept golden handshake along with some other colleagues.

With the money that he got, he bought a small shop and rented two or three others. He got two of the shops furnished with the paraphernalia of hair-cutting saloon and another for beauty clinic.

Then he rented out the shops With the advances he has received he plans to invest the money in some other lucrative business.

A more interesting is the case of a man Tahir Arain. He rented a Thia (roadside stall) and arranged poultry by suppliers on credit. He hired Abdul on daily wages and started selling poultry meat. Every morning he receives poultry at his stall at the prevalent market rate, sells meat at the shop and pays the supplier and Abdul.

Tahir says: “I am earning almost 30 per cent profit on my investment in the trade. On occasions the income increases and some time there is a dip,” he adds.

He plans to have several such shops to augment his income.

These are some down to earth examples of self-employment and job creation with hundreds of opportunities in sectors of businesses including cottage industries such as light engineering goods, plastic goods, agro-based industries, catering and baking and technological services etc., etc. depending on the economic disposition and resources of the entrepreneurs.

The Punjab government, in collaboration with the Akhuwat group, has started distribution of interest-free loans among the unemployed skilled youth in the province under the chief minister’s “Khud Rozgar Scheme” to start their own business. There is a need to introduce and strengthen such schemes in other provinces.