PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to equipping Pakistan’s youth with modern digital skills, saying all possible support is being provided to boost their technological expertise.
He made these remarks while chairing a review meeting in Lahore on Sunday regarding an initiative to train 300,000 young people in information and communication technology (ICT) in collaboration with Huawei Technologies, which was also attended by representatives of the Chinese company.
As part of the Government’s policy to harness the potential of the IT and Telecom sector for overall economic development of the country and empower youth an agreement was signed with Huawei last year during the visit of the Prime Minister to China and it is satisfying that the PM is taking active interest in its follow up.
Pakistan has a young population with a strong educational background and technical skills and that is why it is ranked as one of the top five countries of the world in IT freelancing.
IT promotion can take care of the unemployment issue, which is becoming serious due to squeezing of the public sector in the backdrop of rightsizing; encouraging more women to work and diversifying the economy.
However, the true potential of the country in IT development remains untapped due to technological barriers, lack of proper training, substandard syllabus being taught in universities, inconsistent internet connectivity and slow decision-making as far as IT promotion and investment is concerned.
Proper training of three hundred thousand youth in market-relevant skills in a highly transparent manner can surely make a difference together with the ongoing three-month free training programme for young graduates in AI and other important fields.
Under the initiative, Huawei will train Pakistani youth in artificial intelligence, cyber-security, cloud computing, and other advanced technologies and so far, 20,315 students have completed training.
Huawei representatives reaffirmed their commitment to launching advanced training programmes in Pakistan and skilling local master trainers to train youth at the grassroots level.
The direction of the Prime Minister to expand the programme to all provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, will help maximize its benefits and it is now for the youth to avail the opportunity to equip themselves with latest skills and technologies.
