Creating Livelihoods 2026 is a two-day forum scheduled for June 16 and 17, 2026, at the Karachi School of Business and Leadership, bringing together business leaders, educators, and policymakers from across Pakistan’s corporate landscape to align on decent work practices and the future of employment in the country. The forum features participation from leading organisations including EBM, Faysal Bank, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, and Unilever as SDG Leaders, with KSBL serving as the knowledge partner. Early bird registration is available at PKR 20,000 until June 5, with the regular rate set at PKR 30,000, and registrations can be secured through the official link https://bit.ly/CLSummit2026. Full-day sessions run from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on both days.
The forum is structured around two significant exclusive releases that give it a research and practical tools dimension beyond the conventional conference format. The first is the Creating Livelihoods Survey, described as a first-of-its-kind dataset on employment opportunities and challenges in Pakistan, which will provide participants with evidence-based insight into where the country’s labour market is performing, where it is failing, and what the structural factors driving those outcomes look like across different sectors and geographies. The second is the Responsible Business Conduct Guidebook, a practically oriented framework document designed to give companies implementation-ready tools for embedding responsible business practices into their operations rather than simply aspirational principles that remain disconnected from day-to-day decision-making.
The learning programme across the two days combines six focused workshops with two leadership panel discussions, three case studies, and structured strategic networking. The case studies draw on the experiences of Artistic Milliners, Dawlance, and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, examining how each organisation has approached the integration of inclusive practices into their supply chains and the tangible business benefits that integration has delivered. For business leaders attending the forum, these case studies offer the kind of grounded, Pakistan-specific evidence for the commercial case for responsible business conduct that is more persuasive and directly applicable than international examples drawn from different regulatory, cultural, and market contexts.
The thematic agenda of the forum addresses four interconnected areas of workforce and business development. Fair living wages and economic sustainability examines the business case for wage floors that allow workers to meet their basic needs, addressing both the ethical dimensions of the issue and the evidence connecting fair wages to productivity, retention, and supply chain stability. Responsible business conduct and compliance covers the regulatory and voluntary frameworks that shape how companies are expected to operate in relation to their workers, communities, and supply chain partners. Inclusive communication across hierarchies addresses the organisational culture and communication practice dimensions of creating workplaces where information, feedback, and decision-making authority flow effectively across levels. Building future-ready skills in artificial intelligence, automation, and adaptability frames the workforce development challenge that every organisation in Pakistan is navigating as technology reshapes job requirements faster than conventional training systems can respond.
For Pakistan’s business community, Creating Livelihoods 2026 represents a rare forum where the practical, commercial, and ethical dimensions of employment and workforce development are addressed together rather than in separate conversations that rarely connect. The combination of original research, implementation-ready tools, practitioner case studies, and direct engagement with peers navigating the same challenges makes the June 16 and 17 forum at KSBL a worthwhile investment for leadership teams that are serious about building organisations that can attract, retain, and develop the talent they need to remain competitive in an environment that is changing more rapidly than most workforce strategies were designed to accommodate.
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