EDS plans to promote women’s participation and youth engagement through vocational training, awareness sessions, leadership development, and opportunities for skills enhancement. These activities will encourage equal participation in community development.
Women and young people are important contributors to the social and economic development of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). However, access to market-relevant skills, employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and decision-making opportunities remains an important development priority, particularly in remote mountain communities.
EcoCivic Development Services (EDS) aims to support inclusive and sustainable development by providing professional services in research, community engagement, skills development, project planning, and capacity building. Our approach emphasizes locally relevant opportunities that strengthen women's economic participation and enable young people to contribute to the development of their communities.
1. Vocational and Digital Skills Development
Support skills assessments, training needs identification, digital literacy, handicrafts, business management, and other market-relevant skills that can improve employment and self-employment opportunities in GB.
2. Women's Economic Empowerment
Provide technical support for women-led enterprises, home-based businesses, traditional handicrafts, local product development, entrepreneurship, market linkages, and sustainable livelihood initiatives.
3. Youth Leadership and Employment
Support youth engagement, leadership development, career awareness, entrepreneurship, and skills development aligned with local economic opportunities, including tourism, agribusiness, and environmental services.
4. Inclusive Participation and Decision-Making
Promote gender-responsive planning, community consultation, inclusive participation, and opportunities for women and young people to contribute to community development and local decision-making.
5. Research, Planning, and Capacity Building
Conduct community needs assessments, skills and livelihood research, stakeholder consultations, training needs assessments, project planning, and monitoring and evaluation to inform effective development initiatives.
The Labour Market Assessment of Gilgit-Baltistan (2025) provides useful evidence on skills requirements and employment opportunities in the region. Your existing draft reports that the assessment identified 3,801 skilled positions in agribusiness, including 837 positions for women, representing approximately 22% of the identified demand in that sector.
These figures highlight the importance of understanding labour market needs and strengthening access to relevant skills and employment opportunities. Please verify the figures against the original report before publishing and cite the report clearly.
EDS aims to support government departments, development partners, NGOs, INGOs, private organizations, and local institutions through:
Gender and youth-focused research and community needs assessments.
Skills-gap analysis and labour market assessments.
Training design and capacity-building support.
Women's entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood project planning.
Youth engagement and community mobilization.
Monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and evidence-based recommendations.
Through these professional services, EDS seeks to contribute to more inclusive economic opportunities and sustainable community development across Gilgit-Baltistan.
We aim to promote locally informed, practical, and inclusive approaches that recognize the abilities of women and young people and support their meaningful participation in the social, economic, and environmental development of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Labour Market Assessment of Gilgit-Baltistan, 2025: https://www.skillingpakistan.gov.pk/publications/4
