Pakistan Targets One Million Workers for Saudi Arabia by 2030 Under Long-Term Workforce Strategy
Pakistan has set a target of sending one million workers to Saudi Arabia by 2030 as part of a long-term workforce development strategy aimed at strengthening labor mobility, human capital development, and economic cooperation between the two countries.
According to official documents, the target is part of the Human Resource Deployment Plan (2025–2039), developed under the Saudi-Pakistan Economic Cooperation Framework. The plan is designed to align bilateral labor cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
The strategy aims to gradually increase the annual deployment of Pakistani workers abroad to 1.51 million by 2039 through a structured pipeline of skilled, semi-skilled, and highly qualified professionals.
Priority sectors include construction, hospitality and tourism, healthcare, information technology, logistics, aviation, and infrastructure development.
Saudi Arabia remains the largest destination for Pakistani workers. According to the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, 762,499 Pakistanis registered for overseas employment in 2025, with 530,256—around 69.5 percent—choosing Saudi Arabia. More than 96 percent of Pakistanis migrating through official channels are employed in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The documents state that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has significantly expanded employment opportunities in infrastructure, construction, and service sectors, making the Kingdom Pakistan’s largest overseas labor market.
To meet the growing demand for skilled workers, Pakistan plans to strengthen vocational and technical training programs in construction, hospitality, healthcare, information and communications technology (ICT), and engineering. These initiatives are intended to ensure a steady supply of qualified workers for the Saudi labor market.
The framework also includes policy and institutional reforms such as mutual recognition agreements, qualification alignment between Pakistan’s National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and Saudi training institutions, digital labor market integration, and employer-linked recruitment models.
According to the documents, Pakistan has proposed a $38 billion investment framework for Saudi participation, including $27 billion for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and $10 billion for higher education. The proposal aims to establish demand-driven training infrastructure, skill cities, and joint educational institutions to prepare workers for emerging labor market needs.
The documents highlight early progress under the initiative, including the signing of more than 70 memorandums of understanding and letters of intent during 2024–25, the deployment of over 4,700 workers following the Human Resources and Labor Services Expo, and expanded cooperation with Saudi institutions such as Takamol, Musaned, and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).
In addition to supporting labor exports to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is aligning its workforce planning with future international opportunities, including preparations for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The strategy targets the training and deployment of between 300,000 and 400,000 workers in infrastructure, aviation, tourism, and related service sectors between 2026 and 2034.
The initiative is expected to facilitate a gradual shift toward higher-skilled overseas employment with greater remittance potential while further strengthening Pakistan’s position as a preferred workforce partner for Saudi Arabia.
