Grants to support Better Employability of Pakistani Youth

This grant seeks to create and implement a program to collaborate with American business and tech companies to identify their human resource gaps in eCommerce and IT fields, which could be filled by skilled international employees and to identify skills gaps in Pakistani graduates. Based on the findings, the grantee will partner with faculty at ten universities in Punjab to design curricula to equip students with up-to-date skills needed in today’s market. This is not a job placement program; this program should be designed to strengthen the academic sector of Punjab.

Through this proposed project, the grantee will consult with U.S. tech companies to identify their needs from skilled international employees and then work with ten universities in remote districts of Punjab that face greater resource challenges to identify gaps in the curricula that would allow their students to fill the needs identified by the U.S. companies. The grantee would train and mentor faculty and work to develop curricula and to enhance their pedagogical skills. The project will work with 50 faculty members across ten universities campuses and up to 100 students from each university in the first cohort.

Project Goal: Project aims to create employment opportunities for Pakistani youth currently studying in the universities of Punjab in line with demands of the U.S corporations, promoting inclusive prosperity, economic ties, and people-to-people ties. Fifty teachers and staff from 10 universities from across Punjab will gain skills as trainer of trainers and up to 1,000 students in the first cohort will gain employable skills. By the end of the program, at least 25% of participating students obtain a freelance assignment for $500 or more with an American company, building a base for greater U.S.-Pakistan economic ties.

Project Objectives

This Notification of Funding Opportunity aims to achieve the following project objectives:

• Objective 1: By training fifty teachers and staff from 10 universities from across Punjab, the gap between the market and academia will be minimized.
• Objective 2: Increase the number of young Pakistanis who can work as skilled international employees.
• Objective 3: By the end of the program, at least 75% of students apply for skilled international employment.
• Objective 4: A developed curriculum that can be used for future iterations of the training.

Funding Information

• Length of performance period: 12 to 24 months
• Number of awards anticipated: 1 award
• Award amounts: $500,000
• Total available funding: $500,000
• Award Ceiling: $500,000
• Award Floor: $450,000
• Anticipated program start date: October 1st, 2024

Project Audience(s)

• University Faculty and Teaching Staff
  • Fifty teachers and staff from 10 universities from across Punjab, at least one of which will be a women’s college.
  • Master trainers at the selected campuses of the universities will serve as trainers of trainers and teachers of students.
• U.S. Corporate Sector
  • Through this project, U.S. tech companies will get an employable skilled international workforce.
• Students
  • Up to 1,000 University students from the first cohort will serve as subjects for the grantee and faculty trainees and will gain employable skills applicable in the local and international market.
  • Following the project, all students studying tech fields will benefit from the enhanced curricula and pedagogical skills gained by their teachers.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following Not-for-profit organizations are eligible to apply:
  • U.S. based organizations
  • Civil society/non-governmental organizations
  • Public and private educational institutions
• For-profit entities, even those that may fall into the categories listed above, are not eligible to apply for this NOFO. Organizations may sub-contract with other entities, but only one, non-profit, non-governmental entity can be the prime recipient of the award.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.