Pakistan gets smallest chunk from IT freelance market

ISLAMABAD: The KP government, Human Development Foundation (HDF) and the Creative Innovative Unit (CIU), have jointly established a freelancing centre in Mardan and for that a ceremony was held on Wednesday to sign an MoU.

Addressing on the occasion, the adviser to the CM KPK on Science, Technology and IT, Zia Ullah Khan Bangash, said the provincial government has been paying special attention to freelancing trades, while Haripur has been given the status of Pakistan's first digital city and special technological zone. Delivering his welcome address, Suhail Awan of HDF said poverty in Pakistan has increased from 24 percent to 40 percent and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, about 14.5 million people have lost their jobs. He said the HDF would set up a freelancing center in Mardan to enable people to become self-employed by acquiring freelancing skills through modern technology.

Panelist Saad Gilani said 3,740 training institutes are currently functional across the country, of which only one-third are for the women. He said artificial intelligence and skills must be included in traditional education. Chairman NAVTTC Syed Javed Hassan said if we do not provide employment skills to the growing population, we will be unable to get the dividend from the youth.

Rector NUTECH Lt. Gen (retd) Khalid Asghar noted that NUTECH will provide skills to Pakistan Railways for ML-I, II railways project. Naila Mohammad of Punjab Information Technology Board said freelancers have a huge market of one and a half trillion dollars out of which Pakistan's share is only two billion dollars which is also very much discouraging, while the FBR also announced a crackdown against freelancers. She said 53 percent of freelancers are women that help empower women in Pakistan.