Abstract:
The aim of this study is to evaluate the factors that impact the occupational aspirations of youth in Pakistan. Through this research we aim to ascertain all those factors that impacted the career choices of youth by either making them pursue a different career from the one they had chosen at a younger age or pursue a similar career at present. The various factors under consideration include parental income, parental education, Gender of the individual, type of schooling (private vs. public), type of board (Cambridge vs. Matric) and degree major of the individual. In this study, we collected primary data from 18-24-year-old students enrolled in universities of Islamabad/Rawalpindi through a questionnaire with a sample size of 200. The study aimed to analyze the results of this questionnaire first through regression and then through cross-tabular interpretations of the data. The cross tabulations focused on interpreting impacts of income levels, gender, province, public/private school enrollment and parent’s occupation on the career choices of the respondents. A thorough analysis of these outcomes was done to give a better view of the situation at hand. The important aspect of the study is to identify patterns and try to fix the barriers so that the youth get the best forms of education and can compete at par both nationally and internationally.
The economic model was estimated through binary logistic regression. Results of the regression showed a significant relationship for Gender, Parents Income, Mother’s education, Major of study and Private/Public school enrollment that subsequently affected the occupational aspirations of youth.
The focus is to analyze the trends in the profession chosen by the young children and to identify the cause and determine the policy aspects that need to be focused more upon to gain the maximum benefits from the current youth bulge. Since Pakistan is currently experiencing a youth bulge, this study aims to highlight the importance of a role the Government of Pakistan, NGO sectors and society in general need to play to reap the maximum benefits and to help eliminate barriers that impact the occupational aspirations of youth in Pakistan.
