Register for BISP's Benazir Hunarmand Programme: Free Skills Training, Ages 18 to 40

The Benazir Hunarmand Programme gives free skills training to families already on the BISP register. One member per household can apply, aged 18 to 40, with at least a Matric pass. Registration is on BISP's own portal, hunarmand.bisp.gov.pk, or at your nearest BISP tehsil office with the original CNIC and an active mobile number.

We opened the portal on 9 October 2026 and it was taking registrations. Its verification form asks for the BISP beneficiary's CNIC and lets you register yourself, a child or a husband as the trainee. Registering does not guarantee a place: BISP reviews every application and selects only eligible people.

Benazir Hunarmand is BISP's free skills programme

The Benazir Hunarmand Programme, or BHP, trains women on the BISP register and their family members in a trade. President Asif Ali Zardari launched it on 21 June 2025, BISP says. The aim is a job or a small business, so a family can move off cash support over time.

Training is run by partner institutes, not by BISP itself. In Punjab, BISP signed an agreement with the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) on 31 July 2026. Under it, PSDF provides the training, learning materials, stipends where applicable, and a certificate recognised by NAVTTC, the national technical training authority.

"Stipends where applicable" is the honest wording, and it matters. Not every course pays you to attend. BISP has not published a single stipend amount for the programme, so ask the training institute before you leave other work for a course.

Who can register for Benazir Hunarmand

The portal lists five rules. Miss any one and the application will not go through. The first is the one that stops most people: the family must already be in BISP's Dynamic Registry.

The Dynamic Registry is BISP's household survey, also called NSER. If your family has never been surveyed, start there first. Send your CNIC number to 8171 or visit a tehsil office, and the BISP 8171 eligibility check explains what each reply means.

How to register on the Hunarmand portal

Registration is free and takes one form. Use only the official address, hunarmand.bisp.gov.pk, which sits under BISP's own gov.pk domain.

1. Open hunarmand.bisp.gov.pk and choose "Register Candidate".
2. Enter the CNIC number of the BISP beneficiary, usually the woman who receives the Kafaalat payment.
3. Choose who will train: Self, Child or Husband.
4. Type the captcha code from the picture and submit.
5. Fill in the trainee's details and mobile number on the next screen.
6. Wait for BISP to review the application. Selected candidates are contacted.

We went as far as the verification form and did not submit a real CNIC, so we cannot say what the later screens ask for. If the portal rejects the CNIC, the family is probably not in the Dynamic Registry, or the trainee falls outside the age or education rule.

Can't use the website? Go to the BISP tehsil office with the original CNIC and an active SIM. Staff can register you there.

Which districts are covered

BISP first opened the programme in eight districts: Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad. The portal's pop-up guide still shows that list. But the main guide and eligibility page no longer show any district limit.

We read the page code on 9 October 2026. The district line is now switched off on the eligibility page, which suggests registration has widened. BISP has not announced an expansion, though. If you live outside those eight districts, try the portal anyway. Ask the tehsil office if it refuses you.

BISP has also been talking to provinces. A BISP release of 11 September 2026 says its chairperson discussed Hunarmand training for children of beneficiary families with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's planning department. No new KP intake has been announced yet.

What the training gives you

Under the Punjab agreement, trainees get a certificate recognised by NAVTTC and aligned with the National Vocational Qualifications Framework. That framework, known as NVQF, is the national scale employers and overseas recruiters use to read a skill level.

Already have a skill but no paper to prove it? A NAVTTC skill certificate without classes may suit you better than a full course. Women in Punjab can also compare the free SEHR courses for women, and Punjab residents can look at TEVTA courses.

Nobody should charge you to register

Registration on the Hunarmand portal is free. BISP does not ask for a fee to enrol, to "confirm" a seat or to release a stipend. Anyone asking for money is not acting for BISP.

Be careful with WhatsApp messages and Facebook pages that copy the name. They often ask for a CNIC photo and a "processing fee". Keep the beneficiary's CNIC and any OTP to yourself. The same agents who take cuts from Kafaalat payments try this trick, as the illegal BISP deductions show. The BISP helpline is 0800-26477, free.

Common questions

What is the Benazir Hunarmand Programme?

A free BISP skills training programme for women on the BISP register and their families, launched in June 2025.

Who is eligible for Benazir Hunarmand?

A member of a household in BISP's Dynamic Registry, aged 18 to 40, with Matric or higher. Only one person per family.

Can my son or husband apply?

Yes. The portal lets the beneficiary register herself, a child or her husband as the trainee, using her CNIC.

Is there a stipend?

Only on some courses. BISP's Punjab agreement says the partner pays stipends "where applicable". No fixed amount is published.

Is registration open in every district?

The first phase covered eight districts. The eligibility page no longer lists a district limit, but BISP has not announced an expansion.

Does registering guarantee a place?

No. The portal says applications are reviewed and only eligible people are selected.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 9 October 2026. The eligibility rules, the trainee options and the eight first-phase districts come from BISP's Benazir Hunarmand portal, which we opened on that date. The launch date comes from a BISP press release on its website. The PSDF agreement, the training, materials, stipends "where applicable" and the NAVTTC certificate come from BISP's release of 31 July 2026. The KP discussion comes from BISP's release of 11 September 2026. BISP has not published course lists, stipend amounts or a district expansion.