New Skills Required in the New Era – Future of Jobs Report, World Economic Forum.

New Skills Required in the New Era – Future of Jobs Report, World Economic Forum.

Emerging and Redundant Jobs - Pakistan

Emerging Skills for Pakistan

Current skills in focus of existing reskilling/upskilling programmes

Skills through online knowledge platform, opportunity for tech enthusiasts to capture global business prospects. Extreme Commerce launches 150+ skills platform

the Future of Technology is more mobile and personal”

— Future of Jobs Report

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, August 5, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- World Economic Forum in its Future of Jobs Report identifies new skill sets required in the post pandemic economic recovery for Pakistan. Digital Skills are the key to harness market appropriate opportunities.

Developing and enhancing human skills and capabilities through education, learning and meaningful work are key drivers of economic success, of individual well-being and societal cohesion. The global shift to a future of work is defined by an ever-expanding cohort of new technologies, by new sectors and markets, by global economic systems that are more 

interconnected than in any other point in history, and by information that travels fast and spreads wide. Yet the past decade of technological advancement has also brought about the looming possibility of mass job displacement, untenable skills shortages and a competing claim to the unique nature of human intelligence now challenged by artificial intelligence. The coming decade will require purposeful leadership to arrive at a future of work that fulfils human potential and creates broadly shared prosperity.

Extreme Commerce, Pakistan’s foremost institution working to grow in the arena of E-commerce and digital skills, while creating a learning platform for the “Jobs of Tomorrow”, Extreme Commerce has created interactive learning tools for the new generation of Entrepreneurs and Freelancers. As Pakistan’s foremost EdTech with a focus on e-commerce and digital skills, it aims to bring innovation and quality along with tech, altogether under the same roof and ultimately make Pakistan the hub for Tech practitioners.

Pakistan has been ranked as the 4th fastest growing markets in the world for freelancers, Pakistan is among the top five countries in the world when it comes to freelancing and generates a significant calculated amount of $0.5 billion entirely from freelancing.

Pakistan’s e-commerce industry grew tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is amongst the fastest growth globally. The progressively evolving entrepreneurs in the ecommerce industry are breaking the barriers of feudal mindset. The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum also signifies that new knowledge capital around jobs on Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence and Deep Data Mining and Analysis are key to foster economic progress.

Extreme Commerce pursues to be the fulcrum of opportunity and potential via providing extension in income streams by making sales on international and national E-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Fiverr, Upwork, etc. with an aim to infuse $1 billion for each annum into the local economy.
To meet the global skills gap with Pakistani experts, Extreme Commerce has expanded its digital learning platform with (Video Boot Camp) VBC 150+. The organization has introduced more e-commerce and freelancing learning opportunities, with its Video Boot Camp revamped and enhanced to 50 additional courses to master the new challenges and opportunities.

Video Boot Camp 100 had an extensive range of e-commerce skills that enabled students to obtain sellable skills. But now the additional 150+ courses are designed to provide team building skills, soft skills, marketing, managerial and communication skills. With 50 additional courses comprised of ecommerce and digital skills & 60+ Zameen interviews, Extreme commerce is trying to make 2021 a remarkable year for big changes in the ecommerce industry of Pakistan.

Language has always been a barrier to entry for skill development. However, the extensive line of courses has been upgraded with SIX additional languages which will now help break past language obstructions. It has opened doors for fresh freelancers by providing them a detailed course on Fiverr and Upwork.
The VBC 150+ has stood out by introducing medical freelancing which is the newest addition to VBC. This offers a range of courses for health and fitness enthusiasts, nutritionists and practicing medical students. Understanding data analysis on medical related platforms is one of the most demanding skill globally. Human wellbeing has been identified as one of the major challenges for humanity in the COVID-19 pandemic, where the medical data has opened new prospects for information technology evangelists. Creating new pathways for emerging technologies to benefit the society at large.

The new paradigm of algorithms has automated businesses and can impact the job markets greatly, however this has created opportunities for freelancers to generate new models for business development and service delivery. The VBC has introduced a revamped program of digital marketing and multimedia as well which offers a new spectrum of skills. In Digital marketing there’s Lead generation, Chatbot & Many chat kind of courses which helps and guides all Entrepreneurs, Freelancers, Digital Marketers in general.

As the Future of Jobs Report identifies the Future of Technology is more mobile and personal, Extreme Commerce has launched the Video Boot Camp on mobile App and Play stores. The New VBC mobile app is ready to roll out with 150 courses and 60 Zameen on Android and iOS. The new 150+ courses are income generating streams that are to rewrite the fate of Pakistan’s economy. This will not only boost the economy but also reduce the unemployment rate.
Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 750,000 members to date and with over 100+ courses and income streams to choose from. We estimate that by 2025, our community will be 1 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.

Mishal Pakistan and Extreme Commerce are working jointly to improve the awareness on the skills required for the “Jobs of Tomorrow”. Mishal Pakistan is the country Partner Institute of the New Economy and Societies Platforms, World Economic Forum.

UK-Pakistan Academic Partnership to Strengthen Research and Development in Emerging Technologies.

 First Centre of Emerging Technologies in Private Sector to be Established with UK-Pakistan Partnership.

UK-Pakistan Academic Partnership to Strengthen Research and Development in Emerging Technologies - Mike Nithavrianakis, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director for Pakistan 

Internet age and its usage, new technologies that are currently being developed or will be developed within the next five to ten years are referred to as emerging technologies. Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) and British Computing Society/AccrediNation are jointly establishing Pakistan’s first Centre for Emerging Technologies in Pakistan. The agreement to cement this partnership was signed by both organizations today in Karachi.

The partnership was signed by the Founder and Managing Partner AccrediNation (in country partner organization for British Computing Society), Asad Aamir Ansari and Head of Institution (ECMCC), Abdul Hafeez Malik. His Excellency Mike Nithavrianakis, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director for Pakistan was the Guest of Honour and witnessed the partnership signing along with leading corporates from the tech industry.
 
British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi and Trade Director for Pakistan Mike Nithavrianakis attended and congratulated the institutions involved in agreeing on this partnership, which he hopes will flourish and lead to excellence in the area of emerging technologies”.
 
The world has seen a technological revolution since the advent of the internet, Sunny Ali, Founder Extreme Commerce in his message said, Pakistan has lacked a Centre for Emerging Technologies. Although there have been efforts in the public sector. We are proud to take this lead in Pakistan to launch a private sector driven initiative. He further said, this partnership will set new benchmarks in training a new breed of human resource in the country that can provide leadership for the industry and business community alike for the emerging technologies for global challenges.
 
Asad Aamir Ansari, Founder and Managing Partner for AccrediNation said, emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence can be used in many different industries, including IT, medicine, finance, and more. These technologies are making our daily usage devices smarter, providing deeper, more valuable insight into data and making cloud-based tools more efficient. In terms of impact, these technologies have the power to change the way we deploy, engage, and make use of technology at all levels.
 
CEO MagnaCarta College Ejaz Chaudhry said ‘The IT certifications by BCS UK will increase the employability and freelance opportunities for our youth in the global arena. In today's ever-changing and competitive market, IT professionals need knowledge, expertise and practical skills that are internationally recognised and industry relevant.’
 
For a technology to be classified as emerging, it is characterized by rapid growth, impact, radical novelty, coherence, and, sometimes, uncertainty and ambiguity. These include but are not limited to Artificial intelligence (AI), Gene therapy, 3D printing, Nanotechnology, Cancer vaccines, In vitro meat, Medical field advancements, Robotics, Stem-cell therapy, Distributed ledger technology and other Technologies related to the Internet of Things (IoT). Each of these emerging technologies has the potential to create a significant competitive advantage for businesses in the near future.
 
The event was attended by business leaders, technology enthusiasts, leading entrepreneurs, civil society leaders including Raza Ahmed Sukhera, Joint Director Policy & Sector Growth at Ministry of IT and Telecom, Dr. Shahid Mahmud, Group CEO and Chairman Interactive Group of Companies.
 
AccrediNation chartered by the British Computing Society (BCS) has over a decade of experience in IT Services, Training, Transformation, Consulting and Outsourcing. The BCS is the only professional body in the United Kingdom with the ability to grant chartered status to IT professionals under its Royal Charter, granted to them by the Privy Council. Thus, having the ability to grant Chartered (Professional) status to both its Fellows and Professional members. Known as Chartered IT Professional. AccrediNation has built strong relationships with International Chambers of Commerce, British High Commissions/Embassies, Federal & Provincial Governments and Corporate Sectors across the world.

Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) is Pakistan’s first entrepreneurial higher education institute that came into being as a joint venture between Extreme Commerce and Magna Carta College, Oxford’s Independent Business School. The purpose of ECMCC as a futuristic scholastic and incubation hub, is to build and disseminate a full spectrum of affordable pre- university to post-graduate competency and research-based learning, complemented by world-class, international qualifications.
 
For more information please visit: www.ecmcc.org

5 Million Micro-Entrepreneurs to Benefit from Ecommerce and Digital Skills.

 

Extreme Commerce and Dukan.pk collaborate to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills.

5 Million Micro-Entrepreneurs to Benefit from Ecommerce and Digital Skills.

Extreme Commerce and Dukan.pk collaborate to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills.

It is heartening to see the emergence of local platforms like Dukan.pk to help sellers reach their customers. We are proud to partner with the leader in this space. ”

— Sunny Ali, Founder Extreme Commerce

82.20% enterprises in Pakistan are facing a cash flow shortage in the COVID-19 period. This puts a serious challenge for starting a business in Pakistan. Although Pakistan ranks at 72 among 190 countries on starting a business on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report 2020, the new dynamics demand a new approach for the micro, small and medium enterprises.

This gap has been filled by the two leading enterprises in Pakistan by joining hands, with a common goal of empowering the people of Pakistan to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills, Dukan.pk has partnered with Extreme Commerce to help local businesses sell online. Extreme Commerce is the largest online selling community of Pakistan with approximately 700,000 members. It has trained and helped thousands of people to sell online in the ecommerce platform and generate over $100 million in sales through Amazon, eBay, and other platforms.

The partnership will look into the possibilities to capacitate businesses for online payments as well. 72.29% enterprises in Pakistan reported cash as the major payment method. 59.74% Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Pakistan reported bank transfer method, 24.24% used personal cheque to make payments, 22.08% online payment method, 13.85% debit or credit cards, 6.49% money orders, and 4.33% used mobile payment methods. The government plans to digitize cash on delivery (CoD) payments above PKR 10000 by the year 2022, and all CoD payments will be replaced with online payments by the year 2029.

Extreme Commerce’s Founder and CEO, Sunny Ali said, “It is heartening to see the emergence of local platforms like Dukan.pk to help sellers reach their customers. We are proud to partner with the leader in this space.” He further said, “this partnership will allow anyone with a smartphone to gain e-commerce selling skills and equip them with easy-to-use technology, enabling web store creation, online payments, and delivery management.”

There are currently over 5 Million micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan that are eager to join the e-commerce revolution but lack the technical know-how.

Monis Rahman, founder and CEO of Dukan.pk, while reiterating his commitment to uplift small local businesses said, “Dukan’s mission is to let anyone with a smartphone sell online in under one minute. Our partnership with Extreme Commerce will help accelerate this mission by complementing our platform with high quality e-commerce training for local sellers.”

Pakistan has an approx. 3.2 million SMEs. SMEs constitute nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan; employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor force; and their share in the annual GDP is 40%, approximately. However, unlike large enterprises in the formal sector, a small and medium enterprise is constrained by financial and other resources. This inherent characteristic of an SME makes it imperative that there should be a mechanism through which it may get support in different functions of business including technical upgradation, marketing, financial and human resource training & development.

To build a knowledge platform that can enable new thinking and innovation for the SME E Commerce approach, Extreme Commerce has already signed an agreement with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) as well. Extreme Commerce is also working with academic and research institutions across Pakistan and beyond.

Dukan.pk is a new revolutionary and free of cost E-Commerce App. Through this each store will get its own personalized URL. There are 9 different payment methods with hassle-free stock purchase, sales report, inventory management and order history. Led by a team of industry veterans, Dukan has been able to create over 65,000 online stores, growing 350% monthly by average. It provides local sellers with a free, easy, and effective platform to set up their web stores and sell online.

Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 735,000 members to date and with over 100+ courses and income streams to choose from. We estimate that by 2025, our community will be 1 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.

Pakistan slips 3 ranks on the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 of the World Economic Forum, secures 110 position among 141 countries

Pakistan slips 3 ranks on the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 of the World Economic Forum, secures 110 position among 141 countries

• Islamabad, PK – 09 October 2019 - The World Economic Forum released the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 today. The Report has adopted a new methodology for measuring Competitiveness 4.0. by including indices which represents more knowledge and digital-based ecosystems. The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 4.0 provides a detailed map of the factors and attributes that drive productivity, growth and human development in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The 2019 edition covers 141 economies, which account for 99% of the world’s GDP.

The World Economic Forum defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. Countries can improve their investment potentials by improving their competitiveness rankings. The Global Competitiveness Report, which in 2018 used a brand new methodology to fully capture the dynamics of the global economy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, many of the factors that will have the greatest impact in driving competitiveness in the future have never been the focus of major policy decisions in the past. These include idea generation, entrepreneurial culture, openness, and agility. The new tool maps the competitiveness landscape of 141 economies through 103 indicators organized into 12 pillars.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan and the Country Partner Institute of the Future of Economic Progress System Initiative, World Economic Forum, said, “Pakistan needs to bridge the digital divide between citizens demand for governance and governments’ ability to deliver services through digital and e-governance platforms. The public policy agenda should have ICT adoption as one of the key drivers for transforming the economy to succeed in the fourth industrial revolution era.”

On the Competitiveness 4.0, Pakistan has been ranked at 110th among 141 economies, slipping three positions below from last year’s 107. Pakistan has been ranked 107 in Institutions as compared to 109 last year, It is ranked 105 in infrastructure against 93 in 2018, The ICT adoption has slipped to 131 from 127 from a year earlier. With a loss of 13 ranks the Macroeconomic stability at 116 has greatly impacted country’s competitiveness rankings, While the Health pillars at 115 in 2019 has slipped from 109 from last year. The Skills pillar has retained its position as last year at 125. Pakistan has also lost 4 ranks on the Product Market Pillar with global ranking on 126. Pakistan improved its labor market efficiency with one point by securing 120 rank among 141 economies. While the Financial Systems Pillar lost 10 ranks and rests at 99 this year, compared to 89 last years, the country improved its competitiveness advantage by securing an impressive 29 position compared to 31 in 2018. Pakistan showed its best performance on the business dynamism by improving 15 points and securing 52 among 141 economies. This gain was due to Pakistan’s improvements on time to start a business where, it improves several ranks. The country scored 79 on the innovation capability pillar compared to 75 in 2018.

In South Asia, India, in 68th position, loses ground in the rankings despite a relatively stable score, mostly due to faster improvements of several countries previously ranked lower. It is followed by Sri Lanka (the most improved country in the region at 84th), Bangladesh (105th), Nepal (108th) and Pakistan (110th).
The Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 provides a compass for thriving in the new economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the present context of economic uncertainty, trade tensions, and social and environmental challenges, it is even more critical that policymakers use the comprehensive tools of competitiveness to put the world economy on a path of growing productivity, inclusion and sustainability. The report shows this win-win-win combination is possible, but we will need bolder, visionary leadership and multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve it,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

“What is of greatest concern today is the reduced ability of governments and central banks to use monetary policy to stimulate economic growth. This makes it all the more important that competitiveness-enhancing polices are adopted that are able to boost productivity, encourage social mobility and reduce income inequality,” said Saadia Zahidi, Head of the Centre for the New Economy and Society at the World Economic Forum.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 highlights the fragile economic foundations of several least developed and emerging economies, making them highly vulnerable to shocks. With extreme poverty reduction decelerating and nearly half of humanity still struggling to meet basic needs, the report is a reminder of the need for sustained, productivity-enhancing economic growth remaining critical for improved living standards.

It has also become evident that policymakers face a choice when it comes to setting the right direction for growth through the “quality” of policies and public investments to proactively address challenges such as inequality, climate change and technological divides. The perceived trade-offs between economic, social and environmental factors may emerge from a short-term and narrow view of growth but can be mitigated by adopting a holistic and longer-term approach to sustainable development.

Singapore is the world’s most competitive economy in 2019, overtaking the United States, which falls to second place. Hong Kong SAR (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Switzerland (5th) round up the top five. The average across the 141 economies covered is 61 points, almost 40 points to the frontier. This global competitiveness gap is of even more concern as the global economy faces the prospect of a downturn. The changing geopolitical context and rising trade tensions are fuelling uncertainty and could precipitate a slowdown. However, some of this year’s better performers in the GCI appear to be benefiting from the trade feud through trade diversion, including Singapore (1st) and Viet Nam (67th), the most improved country in this year’s Index.

The Report is a reminder to national policymakers to apply a holistic approach and better balance short-term considerations against factors whose impact is felt beyond quarterly results and election cycles. For example, the results of the index show that labour and education policies have not been keeping up with the pace of innovation in most countries, including in some of the largest and most innovative economies. Governments must better anticipate the unintended consequences of technological integration and implement complementary social policies that support populations through the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Building on four decades of experience in benchmarking competitiveness, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 is a composite indicator that assesses the set of factors that determine an economy’s level of productivity – widely considered as the most important determinant of long-term growth. The GCI 4.0 framework is built around 12 main drivers of productivity, or pillars: Institutions, Infrastructure; ICT adoption; Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Labour market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamism; and Innovation capability. It comprises 103 individual indicators distributed across the 12 pillars.

The Global Competitiveness Report is a flagship publication of the World Economic Forum’s Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society. The Platform provides the opportunity to advancing prosperous, inclusive and equitable economies and societies. It focuses on co-creating a new vision in three interconnected areas: growth and competitiveness; education, skills and work; and equality and inclusion. Working together, stakeholders deepen their understanding of complex issues, shape new models and standards and drive scalable, collaborative action for systemic change.

Over 100 of the world’s leading companies and 100 international, civil society and academic organizations currently work through the Platform to promote new approaches to competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution economy; deploy education and skills for tomorrow’s workforce; build a new pro-worker and pro-business agenda for jobs; and integrate equality and inclusion into the new economy, aiming to reach 1 billion people with improved economic opportunities.

Mishal Pakistan is Pakistan’s leading strategic communication and design company. It is also the country Partner Institute of the Future of Economic Progress System Initiative, World Economic Forum. Mishal is responsible to generate primary data on more than 100 indicators measuring Pakistan’s competitiveness. Mishal’s foremost domain of activity is behavior change communication, strategic communication with a spotlight on media and perception management.

Pakistan Shows Impressive Improvements on Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 Ranks Pakistan at 115 Among 137 Countries

Pakistan at 115, Improves Seven Ranks on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018

Pakistan improves seven ranks on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. For the ninth consecutive year, Switzerland ranks as the most competitive economy in the world, United States and Singapore ranks at second and third respectively.

Pakistan's Performance on Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 of World Economic Forum - 27-09-2017

Islamabad/Geneva, Switzerland, 27 September 2017 – Pakistan has shown impressive performance and extraordinary recovery on key competitiveness indicators. The country has been successful in strengthening and improving its institutions and macroeconomic framework, showing stability and improvements to its global competitiveness footing.

The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving countries’ productivity and prosperity. the World Economic Forum defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness.

Drawing on data going back 10 years, the report highlights in particular three areas of greatest concern. These include the financial system, where levels of “soundness” have yet to recover from the shock of 2007 and in some parts of the world are declining further. This is especially of concern given the important role the financial system will need to play in facilitating investment in innovation related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Pakistan’s ranking at 115 is measured by the twelve pillars of Competitiveness. On the institutions pillar, Pakistan improved 21 ranks and stands at 90 from 111 last year. Infrastructure improved from 116 to 110, on the Macroeconomic Stability Pillar Pakistan improved 10 ranks and stands at 106.

On other pillars, among 137 countries, Pakistan ranks at Health and Primary Education 129, losing one rank from last year, Higher Education and Training improved from 123 to 120, Goods Market Efficiency 107, Labour Market Efficiency 128, Financial Market Development jumped from 107 to 96, Technological Readiness 111. Maintaining the regional competitiveness edge Pakistan ranks at 28 on the pillar of Market Size. Also showing sustained improvements on Business Sophistication the rank changed from 95 last year to 81 in 2017, while on the Innovation pillar an impressive improvement of 15 points now places Pakistan at 60 rank on the global competitiveness index. 

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the Country Partner Institute of the Global Competitiveness andBenchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum said, “Pakistan is classified as a factor driven economy, which primarily depends on improving its institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education indicators. Pakistan has managed to resist the global crisis and has shown resilience for economic recovery. Globally countries that are competitive have shown resilience to crisis. However, the reforms agenda still remains an unfinished business”. He further said, “this year the Report also shows performance of the political government and its ability and understanding to address the competitiveness challenges.”  He also said, “the country needs to concentrate on its primary health and education to benefit from the demographic dividend it offers”. With the convergence of data and policy, Pakistan has huge potential to make an impact of globally policy making for sustainable development initiatives.

This year among 114 global competitiveness indicators, Pakistan showed improvements on 82 key indices, whereas on 20 indices the country lost its previous position. While on 12 indices Pakistan, retained its position as last year.

Competitiveness has improved across most countries in South Asia, in particular in the two Himalayan countries of Bhutan (82nd, up 15) and Nepal (88th, up 10). On a similarly positive trend, Pakistan (115th, up seven) and Bangladesh (99th, up seven) have both improved their scores across all pillars of competitiveness. Both India (40^th, down one) and Sri Lanka (85^th, down 14 ranks) had corruption and inefficient government bureaucracy as key factors for hindering progress. Upgrading ICT infrastructure and increasing ICT use remain among the biggest challenges for the region: over the past decade, South Asia has been the area where technological readiness stagnated the most.

The analysis from Mishal, the country partner institute for Pakistan also shows performance of some of the key regulatory bodies and other government institutions, which have shown progress as well. Among 138 countries the institutions are ranked as following: Intellectual Property Organization (97), Judicial Independence (80), Police Services (116), Auditor General of Pakistan Revenues (110), National Highways Authority (76), Pakistan Railways (52), Civil Aviation Authority (91), NEPRA (115), Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (116), National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (99), Competition Commission of Pakistan (70), Pakistan Customs (93), State Bank of Pakistan among other 138 Central Banks at (89), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan at (91) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (135).

The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 also identifies Corruption as the most problematic factor for doing business in Pakistan, followed by tax rates, government instability/coups and crime and thefts. 

To improve the soft-data on Pakistan, the World Economic Forum worked closely with Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of WEF. This year a total of 526 respondents from the business community were reached out through the annual Executive Opinion Survey, whereas 236 were selected from last year and 290 from this year. The World Economic Forum reached out to more than 12,000 business leaders globally. This year Pakistan had the third largest sample size in the world after China and Mexico.

“Global competitiveness will be more and more defined by the innovative capacity of a country. Talents will become increasingly more important than capital and therefore the world is moving from the age of capitalism into the age of talentism. Countries preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and simultaneously strengthening their political, economic and social systems will be the winners in the competitive race of the future,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.

Another key finding is that competitiveness is enhanced, not weakened, by combining degrees of flexibility within the labour force with adequate protection of workers’ rights. With vast numbers of jobs set to be disrupted as a result of automation and robotization, creating conditions that can withstand economic shock and support workers through transition periods will be vital.

The Report states that, “Despite positive development, leaders are facing major predicaments when it comes to economic policy. Uneven distribution of the benefits of economic progress, generational divides, rising income inequality in advanced economies, and increasing environmental degradation have heightened the sense that the economic policies of past years have not served citizens or society well. Coupled with growth rates that remain below historical levels, these quandaries put many prevalent models of economic growth and related policies into question. Major technological disruption and the new fault lines emerging in the global economic and political order add further uncertainty about the types of policies that will make economies future-proof. Taken together, all of these factors are challenging decision makers to find new approaches and policies to advance economic progress.”

The report also highlights on why quantitative easing and other monetary policy measures have been insufficient in reigniting long-term growth for the world’s advanced economies. The report finds that interventions by economies with comparatively low GCI scores failed to generate the same effect as those performed in economies with high scores, suggesting that strong underlying competitiveness is a key requirement for successful monetary stimulus.

The report offers insight into how priorities may be shifting for nations in earlier stages of development. While basic drivers of competitiveness such as infrastructure, health, education and well-functioning markets will always be important, data in the GCI suggests that a nation’s performance in terms of technological readiness, business sophistication and innovation is now as important in driving competitiveness and growth.

The Global Competitiveness Report’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2005. The 12 pillars of Competitiveness are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.

Key Findings:

• TEN YEARS AFTER THE CRISIS, THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IS STILL VULNERABLE 

• MORE COUNTRIES ARE ABLE TO INNOVATE, BUT THEY MUST DO MORE TO SPREAD THE BENEFITS

• THERE NEED BE NO TRADE-OFF BETWEEN LABOR MARKET FLEXIBILITY AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS

• Access full report, infographics, videos and more visit: weforum.org

AGAHI AWARDS Celebrates Journalism Integrity - First Journalism Awards on Competitiveness Reporting

AGAHI AWARDS Celebrates Journalism Integrity - First Journalism Awards on Competitiveness Reporting

Pakistan’s most credible journalists recognized for their work at the annual AGAHI Awards in more than 40 categories.

• ARY News Wins the Favorite News Channel of the Year, 
• Waseem Badami Favorite Current Affairs Anchor (male),
• Aysha Buksh Favorite Current Affairs Anchor (female) for 2016 in the People’s Choice categories. 
• Naseem Zehra of Channel 24 recognized as the Most Credible Anchor of the Year 2016. 
• Arshad Sharif and Adeel Raja “AGAHI Awards Investigative Journalists of the Year.”

Winners of the AGAHI Awards 2016 with the Guests of Honors

Islamabad, PK – 10 December 2016: The efforts of journalists and media community are recognized every year through the AGAHI Awards. The AGAHI Awards acknowledges journalists’ professional commitment to promote accountability to safeguard public interest. Quality journalism heightens collective consciousness of a society that builds a nation’s identity and purpose. The best of the media industry striving for Ethical Journalism from all across Pakistan were recognized as Journalist of the Year in their respective categories today at the National Library of Pakistan, Islamabad.

The ceremony was hosted by senior journalists, Mubashir Zaidi and Amber Shamsi. This year AGAHI Awards received more than 3500 nominations from all over the country in more than 35 different categories from print, television, radio and online media. The AGAHI Awards received an overwhelming response by the journalist community - where AGAHI Awards reached more than 6 million Pakistanis through social media and almost 1.5 million through SMS for the Peoples’ Choice Awards categories including “Favorite News Channel of the Year” and “Current Affairs Anchors of the Year” in Pakistan. For the first time in the region, the AGAHI Awards also deployed big data and sentiments analysis to measure the people's choice categories.

Puruesh Chaudhary, President AGAHI and the co-founder of the AGAHI Awards while speaking to the participants said, “We can improve our way of thinking if we work together, the media can play an incredible role in helping the decision-makers identify people-centric challenges and opportunities thereby enabling them to opt for the right choices. AGAHI Awards is a step in that direction.”  

This is the first year the AGAHI Awards will include the special category ‘Eliminating Hidden Hunger & Malnutrition.’  Pakistan has one of the highest rates of stunting with nearly half of all children in Pakistan malnourished. With the support of the Australian Government and Mishal, the new category aims to encourage journalists to write more on this important issue.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Margaret Adamson said the Australian Government was supporting the special category to encourage journalists to raise community awareness of such a critical issue through better informed reporting. “Australia's aid program is supporting a range of programs underway to improve nutrition and food security in Pakistan. I am confident this initiative will help build the capacity of journalists to effectively report on this issue and in turn inform the high priority by policy makers and legislators to implementing cross cutting measures, with supporting funding, to eliminate the urgent issue of malnutrition and hidden hunger in Pakistan,” Ms. Adamson said.  

Amir Jahangir, CEO Mishal Pakistan and co-founder, AGAH Awards, in his welcome address said, “For the first time in the history of journalism, the content and the knowledge creator is taking the lead. In this new ecosystem, the guardians of the infrastructure are becoming irrelevant. It’s the journalist, who is taking the center stage now”. He further said, “Journalists are the drivers of public discourse, shaping policies, their stories are becoming a vital link between the citizens and the state”.

AGAHI Awards recognizes “Credibility” as the key currency for public trust for the attention economy, where media becomes the platform to create social values and transparency. AGAHI Awards is the recognition of journalists who have shown personal integrity and professional excellence to make Pakistan a more informed nation.

The AGAHI Awards 2016 Recognized the following “Journalists of the Year” in the following categories: 

* Nasim Zehra (Most Credible Anchor of the Year),  

* Waseem Badami (Peoples' Choice Awards: Favorite Current Affairs Anchor – Male), 

* Ayesha Buksh (Peoples’ Choice Awards: Favorite Current Affairs Anchor – Female), 

* ARY News (Peoples’ Choice Awards: Favorite News Channel of the Year),

* Arshad Sharif and Adeel Raja (Investigative Journalists of the Year),

      Javeria Siddique (Agriculture), 

      Naimat Khan (Anti-Corruption), 

      Adnan Aamir (Business & Economy), 

      Shafi Moosa Mansoori (Citizen Empowerment), 

      Shumaila Jaffery (Women Empowerment), 

      Muhammad Sameer Saleem (Youth Empowerment), 

      Samiullah Randhawa (Climate Change), 

      Mubarek Zeb Khan (Competitiveness), 

      Muhammad Irfan Haider & Sadia Qasim Shah (Conflict), 

      Muhammad Shahzad (Corporate Social Responsibility), 

      Adil Aziz Khanzada (CPEC), 

      Shahzia Nisar (Creating Shared Value), 

      Zehra Nawab (Culture & Tourism), 

      Syed Muhammad Abubaker (Disasters and Catastrophe), 

      Naqeebullah Taran (Education), 

      Muhammad Luqman (Eliminating Hidden Hunger), 

      Fazal Rahim Awan (Entrepreneurship), 

      Muhammad Shahzad (Extremism and Terrorism), 

      Muhammad Akbar Notezai (Foreign Policy), 

      Ahsan Raza (South Asia Bridge Initiative – SABI), 

      Muhammad Akbar Notezai (Foresight and Futures), 

      Wali Zahid (Governance), 

      Muhammad Shahid (Health), 

      Haroon Siraj (Human Rights), 

      Fariha Fatima (Infotainment), 

      Zeeshan Anwar (Innovation Journalism), 

      Hassan Bilal Zaidi (Information Communication Technology), 

      Khalid Khattak (Innovation), 

      Muhammad Suhail Yusuf (Reporting On Science), 

      Imran Malik (Institutional Reforms), 

      Zaheer Uddin Babar (Journalism for Peace), 

      Muhammad Atif Sheikh (Media Ethics), 

      Ihtisham ul Haq (Nutrition), 

      Zahid Gishkori (Open Government), 

      Sadia Seher (Photo Journalism - Print), 

      Hussain Afzal (Video Journalism Television), 

      Sheharyar Ali (Rule of Law), 

      Saeed Badshah (Sports), 

      Shehzad Ahmad (Sexual & Reproductive Health Rights - SRHR),

      Syed Muhammad Abubakar (Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs), 

      Fazal Khaliq (Vocational Training & Technical Education),

      Syed Muhammad Abubakar (Water Diplomacy), 

      Muhammad Suhail Yusuf (Water, Energy & Food Security Nexus)

Inaugurated on March 28th, 2012, the AGAHI Awards are Pakistan’s first ever journalism awards recognizing the best journalists across print, television, radio and the internet on more than 40 different journalism thematic beats. AGAHI and Mishal Pakistan in collaboration with leading press clubs across the country, local and international media development bodies, regulatory authorities and the private sector organize these awards.

The AGAHI Awards are the most sought after journalism recognition in Pakistan. The Awards have been the foremost development initiative for media and journalism in the country. The awards have identified some of the most talented and diligent journalists in the industry. The AGAHI Awards winners have now acquired decision-making and leadership position across the media industry for “Shaping the Future of Journalism” in Pakistan.

The AGAHI Awards were co-founded by Mishal Pakistan and AGAHI. The evaluation methodology and selection criteria of the awards have been designed in collaboration with the Center for Internet and Media Ethics (CIME) and on the pillars of Media Development Indicators of UNESCO, with input from the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The Awards have been organized in collaboration with leading press clubs, local and international media development institutions, regulatory authorities, civil society organizations, private and public sector bodies and other stakeholders.

Leading opinion makers, senior journalists, policy makers, diplomats, academicians, leading professionals from the media industry and representatives from think tanks attended the award ceremony. The AGAHI Awards have been the foremost media development initiative for media and journalism in the country. The awards have identified some of the most talented and diligent journalists in the industry. The AGAHI Awards winners have now acquired decision-making and leadership position across the media industry for “Shaping the Future of Journalism” in Pakistan.

Mishal Pakistan is the country partner Institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks at the World Economic Forum. Established in 2003, Mishal has been engaged with key stakeholders in Pakistan to improve the state of media and competitiveness through good governance initiatives.

AGAHI is a not for profit working since 2011 to create non-paid communication strategies and strategic foresight. AGAHI encourages and advises individuals and institutions in pursuing and supporting initiatives to improve the state of development in Pakistan. It works on developmental frameworks facilitating information and knowledge sharing platforms on understanding challenges in global perspective. It’s research work mainly focuses on national and international security, ICT, human capital development, and governance.