Italy has announced plans to employ more than 10,000 Pakistani workers over the next three years under a new labour agreement between the two countries, aimed at expanding legal employment opportunities for Pakistanis in Europe.

Under the arrangement, Pakistan has been allocated a dedicated workforce quota, allowing skilled and semi-skilled workers to be hired across multiple sectors. These include hospitality, healthcare, agriculture, shipbreaking, welding, technical services and food-related industries. Available positions will range from chefs, waiters and housekeeping staff to nurses, medical technicians and farmworkers.

Officials said around 3,500 Pakistanis are expected to travel to Italy annually for employment, with 1,500 workers falling under seasonal quotas and 2,000 under non-seasonal categories. With this agreement, Italy has become the first European country to reserve a specific employment quota exclusively for Pakistan.

It was also confirmed that the second meeting of the Pakistan-Italy Joint Working Group will be held in Islamabad in February 2026 to review progress and further strengthen bilateral cooperation in labour mobility.

Meanwhile, employment opportunities have also been announced domestically, particularly for less-educated unemployed individuals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The provincial government has approved the recruitment of 2,800 watchmen for government schools across 28 districts.

According to the KP Finance Department, formal approval has been granted to fill the vacant posts through advertisements, competitive selection and merit-based procedures. Mansehra has been allocated the highest number of positions at 377, followed by Bannu with 263, Mardan with 256, Peshawar with 162, Lakki Marwat with 160 and Abbottabad with 154 posts.