Online courses increase employability, income for young Pakistanis, study finds

LAHORE: A new study has found that online courses offered by the Punjab Skill Development Fund (PSDF) have helped young people in the country increase their income by more than Rs14,000 per month.

The study, conducted by the Centre for Research in Economics and Business (CREB) of the Lahore School of Economics, evaluated the impact of a partnership between the PSDF and Coursera, a leading online learning platform that offers more than 7,000 courses designed by international organizations and universities.

The PSDF via integration of international certification courses has enabled youth in Punjab to increase their earning capabilities. The partnership brought youth in Punjab at the forefront of the digital revolution. A certificate from Coursera not only opens doors to the youth in Pakistan, but also around the world, making Pakistanis globally competitive.

According to the official data of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the year 2022 saw a growth of 2.74 percent as foreign exchange from freelancing stood at $397.328 million as compared to $396.243 million in 2021 in Pakistan.

There were around three million freelancers in Pakistan in 2022. Pakistan is emerging as a hub for freelancers, and the income potential is limitless.

The study revealed that more than 1,200 students completed the internationally recognised Coursera courses from the PSDF platform. Furthermore, the impact of this collaboration was further substantiated by the rising income of these graduates.

The transition-to-work is 9 percent higher amongst trainees who completed the courses and were unemployed before the programme. They also experienced income gains exceeding Rs14,000 per month.

This showcases the tremendous potential that these courses offer, with Python, financial accounting, and graphic design courses ranking among the top three contributors to higher income gains.

According to the SBP report, Pakistan sees an annual supply of 20,000 to 25,000 fresh engineering and IT graduates, but only 10 percent IT graduates are employable. There is a huge skills gap in the global IT requirements. The courses offered by the PSDF in collaboration with Coursera are helping the youth to unleash these opportunities.

The study identified Python for Everyone, Financial Accounting, Graphic Design, Developing Android Apps with App Inventor and Digital Image and Video Processing as the top five most effective courses for transitioning to work.

PSDF COO Ali Akbar Bosan said PSDF, in line with Punjab government and Planning and Development Board visions was offering digital skills to youth for equipping them with the needed skills.

These skills should help the youngsters to not only thrive in the global digital era but also find financial independence, which could result in increase IT export services.