Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has announced plans to develop a sustainable and modern Information and Computer System to position Pakistan as a regional hub for the IT sector. He shared these directives during a review meeting in Islamabad focusing on the development of the IT Training Ecosystem in the country.
According to Radio Pakistan, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of equipping the youth with modern IT skills to facilitate local transformation and ensure employment opportunities. He stressed that providing competent IT manpower to local companies would help meet international standards and attract foreign exchange. Shehbaz Sharif called for the preparation of clear terms of reference for consultancy on the training system and set a timeframe for its development and launch.
The Prime Minister directed relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Federal Education, Higher Education Commission, and Neotech, to collaborate with the Ministry of IT to integrate IT training at various educational levels. He suggested utilizing summer camps for IT training during the current vacation period. The meeting was informed that significant progress is underway to establish a modern training system, with the terms of reference for consultancy services nearing completion.
Currently, twenty thousand students have received modern IT training with Huawei’s support. Notably, Pakistani students trained last year achieved top positions in international IT competitions in China and globally. The Prime Minister congratulated the students for their achievements.
The meeting also outlined plans to provide IT training to an additional eighty thousand students, with online classes reaching remote areas like Turbat and Balochistan. A target has been set to train fifty thousand trainers in Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad, aligning courses with modern technology and contemporary needs.
Furthermore, the initiative aims to train three hundred thousand students in IT by incorporating training projects into Bachelor’s programs and launching artificial intelligence courses. During the current summer season, one hundred forty-six thousand students will receive IT training in collaboration with various ministries and Huawei. Under the Prime Minister’s Youth Program, two thousand students will soon undergo training in modern IT courses to enhance their employment prospects.