‘Ehsaas Digital Hunar programme on the anvil’

Islamabad:Ehsaas Digital Hunar program is expected to train 25,000 young people from the Ehsaas ecosystem, said SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar in a meeting with the technology team of Ehsaas on the forthcoming Ehsaas Digital Hunar programme.

The Ehsaas Digital Hunar programme is rooted in the philosophy to empower the disadvantaged youth through digital skills, in order to make them employment ready. Secretary Ismat Tahira, DG Technology Meer Anwar and other senior officials were also present in the meeting.

Pakistan currently has one of the youngest populations in the world. According to last census, 60 per cent of the country’s population is under 35. Also, as per the estimates of Higher Education Commission, we are producing 500,000 graduates every year. “The pandemic has created massive demand for digital skills. Post-COVID, the future of employment is in the online world. The Digital Hunar programme is expected to serve trainees not only in learning new digital skills but will also prepare them for the job market”, said Dr. Sania. Further, she added, “We are in the final stages of designing the programme for board approval.”

Ehsaas Digital Hunar is expected to deliver 3 - 6 month virtual programmes with in-demand market skills and hundred percent employability. The programme includes the five resources: curriculum design & development; learning management system; affiliation programme with academia and private institutes; training programme; and freelance portal.

Given the complex nature of the Digital Hunar training subjects, Ehsaas will largely focus on the blended framework for curriculum design aligned with needs of subject and students. Live sessions will be led by course instructors on virtual training platform where participants will be able to interact with the instructors. All trainings will be delivered and monitored through the Learning Management System (LMS).

Online learning resources and courses are expected to be based on module-format featuring reading content, video content, practice exercises, quizzes, and other learning materials. Lessons will cover textual content, externally related articles, and media presentations for the purpose of elaborating on concepts from the modules. To keep the course content interactive and engaging, each module is expected to include video content as well. Ehsaas Digital Hunar is being designed in an evidence-based manner taking stock of need and options.

One of the key challenges being faced by Pakistani freelancers is the lack of financial integration of international freelance platforms with our financial systems. Moreover, all international freelance portals charge 5 to 20 per cent as commission from employees as well as employers separately. To this end, a freelance portal will be built under Ehsaas that will be free to use, assisting employees as well as international employers.