Pakistan has set to send 300,000 to 400,000 skilled workers abroad for projects related to the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
According to official documents available to Wealth Pakistan, the manpower plan is aligned with the expected demand arising from the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Skilled Pakistani workers are expected to play an important role in infrastructure construction, aviation, tourism and related services sectors between 2026-2034.
The initiative is part of the government’s broader efforts to increase manpower exports and improve the skills of Pakistani workers for overseas employment. According to the documents, 215,719 workers were trained in soft skills in the July-March 2025-26 financial year, aiming to improve their adaptability, productivity and efficiency globally.
Evidence shows that overseas employment is an important pillar of Pakistan’s labor market strategy. By 2025, the Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE) has registered 762,499 workers to work abroad, while since 1972, more than 15 million Pakistanis have gone to work in more than 50 countries with government resources.
According to the documents, 96 percent of the Pakistani workers who go abroad through official channels work in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These workers contribute significantly to the national economy through remittances, which are the second largest source of foreign exchange after exports. Saudi Arabia is the top destination for Pakistani workers in 2025, with 530,256 workers, accounting for 69.54 percent of the total registrations for work abroad.
Opportunities in the infrastructure, construction and services sectors under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program are increasing the demand for skilled manpower. According to the documents, Pakistan is also expanding labor movement partnerships outside the Gulf region.
Pakistan. In the framework of the EU Migration and Mobilization Dialogue, contacts with European partners on legal migration and labor force support are ongoing. Italy allocated a quota of 10,500 seasonal and non-seasonal workers to Pakistan over three years, while progress was made towards formal labor cooperation arrangements for skilled workers with Germany and Greece.
According to the documents, the government is also modernizing the immigration system with digital initiatives. A Pakistan Immigration Management Framework is being developed which will coordinate the 14 relevant agencies and facilitate the process of working abroad with an online verification system.
Similarly, a digital HR pool system has been enabled, which integrates biometric authentication, job retrieval and a transparent recruitment process.
Continued investments in skills development, facilitation of overseas employment and labor market reforms aimed at enabling Pakistan to take advantage of emerging global opportunities and create more skilled and higher-paying employment opportunities for the country’s workforce, the documents said.
