Govt issues directive to implement ‘Internal Employment Promotion Decade’, details of the new framework

KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has issued a comprehensive directive to operationalise the government’s flagship ‘Internal Employment Promotion Decade’ campaign, aimed at reducing Nepal’s dependence on foreign employment and strengthening the domestic labour market.

The ministry has enforced the National Employment Promotion Programme (Operation and Management) Directive, 2082, to implement activities under the Internal Employment Promotion Decade. The directive was approved through a ministerial-level decision on Poush 3.

Former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had declared the period 2025 to 2035 as the Internal Employment Promotion Decade, with the strategic objective of ending Nepal’s compulsion-driven foreign employment trend within ten years.

Labour Ministry Spokesperson Pitambar Ghimire said the directive provides the legal and operational framework to implement the decade-long campaign. He stated that the directive integrates all previously announced commitments into a unified national programme.

“With the issuance of this directive, the Employment Promotion Decade has formally moved into the implementation phase. This directive is a core component of that campaign,” Ghimire said.

The ministry has already circulated the directive to all local governments, instructing them to carry out programmes accordingly.

Nationwide coverage across all three tiers of government

Under the directive, the National Employment Promotion Programme will be implemented across the federal government, all seven provinces, and all 753 local levels, making it one of the most decentralised labour market interventions to date.

The programme aims to align Nepal’s emerging youth workforce with labour market demand through skills development, employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurship promotion.

Special priority has been given to returnee migrant workers, with provisions to utilise their skills, capital, experience, and technology to create domestic employment and enterprise opportunities.

Target groups and core programmes

The directive identifies unemployed individuals, jobseekers, returnee migrant workers, and people entitled to special state support as the primary target groups.

It integrates multiple employment tracks, including:

• Minimum employment programmes for the unemployed registered at local employment service centres
• Reintegration programmes for returnee migrant workers
• Various internal employment promotion initiatives at local and provincial levels

Multi-tier governance structure

A National Steering Committee will be formed under the chairmanship of the Minister for Labour. Members will include secretaries from the ministries of labour, finance, and federal affairs, as well as a representative from the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

A National Programme Implementation and Coordination Committee, led by the Labour Ministry Secretary, will oversee execution.

The Internal Employment Management Division of the Labour Ministry will function as the programme secretariat, with the division chief serving as National Programme Director.

At the provincial level, Provincial Programme Steering Committees will be formed. At the local level, each municipality and rural municipality will establish a Local Programme Implementation Committee under the chairmanship of the mayor or chairperson.

Expanded role of Employment Service Centres

Each local level will operate an Employment Service Centre as the frontline institution for labour market management. These centres will handle:

• Minimum employment programme management
• Child labour and forced labour prevention
• Social Security Fund coordination
• Internal and foreign employment services
• Reintegration of returnee migrant workers
• Skills, capital, experience, and technology utilisation for entrepreneurship

The centres will also coordinate with banks and financial institutions to facilitate enterprise development financing.

All centres will be digitally integrated with the national Labour Sansar System, maintaining real-time records of unemployed, underemployed, employed, self-employed, and foreign-employed individuals, along with employers, training institutions, and financial institutions.

Local labour market planning made mandatory

Local governments are required to conduct labour market surveys, analyse employment potential, and design demand-driven programmes based on local economic conditions.

They must maintain updated databases of unemployed individuals, training providers, employers, and financial institutions, and estimate potential job creation across public, private, cooperative, and non-government sectors.

Jobseekers must register their preferred sectors, occupations, and professions, enabling targeted job matching.

Local governments, in coordination with provincial authorities, may organise employment fairs and special recruitment programmes involving employers, jobseekers, banks, and training institutions.

Focus on returnee migrant workers and skills development

Special programmes will target returnee migrant workers by promoting the productive use of their acquired skills, experience, capital, and technology for domestic job creation and entrepreneurship.

The directive authorises vocational and professional training programmes of at least 390 hours, aligned with labour market demand.

Training must follow an 80 percent practical and 20 percent theoretical model. Workplace-based training may be conducted in collaboration with industries and enterprises.

The National Skill Testing Board will approve curricula, conduct skill testing, standardisation, and certification through its training centres.

Financing and implementation mechanism

The programme will be financed through the annual federal budget, with conditional grants transferred to provinces and local levels.

Provinces may also provide financial transfers to local governments. Development partners’ financial and technical assistance may be mobilised for programme expansion.

Separate financial accounts will be maintained for programmes targeting internal employment promotion and returnee migrant workers.

The ministry will annually approve provincial and local programmes and release conditional grants accordingly.

Old framework scrapped

With the enforcement of the new directive, the Prime Minister Employment Programme Operation Directive, 2075, has been repealed.

All employment management information systems and transferred responsibilities under the previous framework will now be governed by this new directive.

The government views the directive as a structural shift toward building a sustainable domestic labour market and gradually reversing Nepal’s long-standing reliance on foreign employment.