7th CM e-Rozgaar Centre opens

LAHORE :The 7th CM e-Rozgaar Centre opened at Government College for Women University (GCWU), Sialkot Tuesday. 

Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology & Tourism (YASAT)'s joint project, "Chief Minister's e-Rozgaar Programme" will provide free training to the selected candidates in the 36 districts of the Punjab province by establishing 40 CM e-Rozgaar Centres at an estimated cost of Rs547 million in 11 universities of the province and these five centres are exclusively dedicated for women.On behalf of Dr Umar Saif, Adviser to the CM, Chairman PITB and founding Vice-Chancellor of Information Technology University (ITU), Director General e-Governance PITB Sajid Latif inaugurated the Centre, which will train 344 candidates from Sialkot and the adjoining areas. Pakistani youths have immense potential; however, there is a need to polish their talent and give them adequate training for freelancing, enabling them to generate jobs for themselves", said Sajid Latif. He said that among the established centres, the trainees at Faisalabad Centre at Government College Women University were performing the best as they have also started earning. These centres would be run by PITB for a period of three years, which would be made regular part of the curriculum, he stated. This project would channelise the freelancing sector to contribute to the national exchequer and would prove to be a major source for additional foreign exchange, he added. The trained persons would also be able to become job providers, he said.

Under CM e-Rozgaar programme, centres at University of Gujrat, Government College for Women University, Faisalabad, UET, Taxila, COMSATS, Sahiwal and Punjab University, Jhelum Campus, UET, Lahore have been successfully launched by PITB. Earlier, MoU was signed by Professor Dr Farhat Saleemi, Vice-Chancellor, Government College for Women University, Sialkot Campus and on behalf of Dr Umar Saif, VC ITU, Chairman PITB by DG e-Governance PITB. PITB registered 33,105 applications from young graduates and on the basis of merit, selected candidates will get three months training in three phases for freelance self-employment by high profile trainers. In the first phase, 10,000 candidates have been selected on merit through a transparent process.

Since the concept and awareness of earning through the internet and taking freelancing as a serious profession is very new in the smaller cities of Punjab, the programme has taken upon itself to guide and groom graduates from a variety of backgrounds. The training will enable the youth to generate income approximately from Rs40,000 to Rs80,000 per month while working from home.