Just transitions for men, women, and youth through skills training and job creation in sustainable construction and ecotourism in flood affected districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The project focuses on skills development for sustainable construction and entrepreneurial training to promote eco-tourism services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The overall objective is to centralize just transitions at the core of social and economic recovery and development in the province. The project features piloting a national certification framework for economic empowerment of men and women in the province. The main target group are young women and men who are disenfranchised and lack the opportunity to upgrade skills and to be a part of self-employment ventures that can transit them from very often informal and precarious work to more formal and decent work arrangements. Through skills training, men and women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are able to participate in the reconstruction of sustainable infrastructure and revival of eco-tourism. The training on green construction (focusing green inputs like bricks) is mainstreamed through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) providers in the province. Additionally, by working with small and medium-sized enterprises on enhancing working conditions (including safety and health at the workplace) and investing in people, the project aims at sustaining more competitive and responsible enterprises in the sector and contributes to achieving the objectives of the Pillar on Prosperity. The project is set in the context of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where social and economic development has been impeded by cascade of crises with the most profound of damage to infrastructure and jobs in the construction sector also affecting tourism in the province. The sector contributed 19% of total national domestic tourist traffic, a significant number of 16 million tourists visited only in 2023, double the number previous year . As a result of the floods of 2022, employment of 4.3 million people, more than 10% of the total population, has been impacted stripping them means of earning and subsistence. Employment loss in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 1.1 million with the services sector in the lead at almost 45%. Much of this employment loss is in the tourism enterprises such as hotels, restaurants, and tour operators where supply chains were disrupted, and a complete closure of tourist sites occurred. Pakistan Authorities informs that tourism is contributing 3.7% in GDP but it has potential to contribute more than 10% generate more than 6 billion dollars annually only from foreign tourism. In terms of employers, construction and tourism often rely on migrant and seasonal workers . Also, women account for 46 % of workers in tourism globally, and expanding the definition to include catering and accommodation brings the proportion of female labor up to 90 %. Some estimates suggest that wages for women are up to 20% lower than those for men, as they occupy the lower levels of the occupational structure, with few advancement opportunities. In order to realize the potential for more and better jobs, key sector stakeholders need to work in partnership and overcome a set of complex and interconnected constraints that are embedded in the social, political, institutional and economic systems prevailing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In this respect, the project supports key sectors stakeholders in addressing root causes that can be traced to both supply side and demand side factors, i.e. within the institutions that are responsible for providing relevant skills, competences (including entrepreneurial ones), and guidance to the workforce (supply side), and within the enterprises operating in the sector, where employers are not always aware of concrete steps they can take to improve working conditions, retain talent, and increase productivity overall (demand side).

Project symbol

PAK/24/02/ITA

Admin unit

CO-Islamabad

Start date

14/05/2025

End date

13/05/2028

Total allocation

706064

Total expenditure

Status

Active

215121

Development Partners

Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Country/Countries

Pakistan

Outcomes

Outcome 4: Sustainable enterprises for inclusive growth and decent work
Outcome 3: Full and productive employment for just transitions