Ignite and The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has launched its 2nd DigiSkills Programme for freelancers.
An agreement was signed between Ignite National Technology Fund and the Virtual University of Pakistan here on Monday. The agreement was signed by CEO Ignite, Asim Shahryar Husain, and Rector Virtual University Pakistan, Dr. Arshad Saleem Bhatti.
The ceremony was attended among others by Federal Minister for IT & Telecom, Syed Amin Ul Haque, Secretary MoITT, Dr. Mohammad Sohail Rajput, and officials of IT Ministry, Ignite, and Virtual University Pakistan.
Haque said that with the country’s increasing internet connectivity, broadband penetration, young and educated youth, thousands of IT graduates, and million-plus enrolled university students, Pakistan can increase the number of freelancers and bring foreign exchange to the country through this initiative.
Pakistan is the 4th fastest growing country in terms of freelancers and their earnings in the world. “State Bank’s figure for freelancing exports during 2020-21 was $396 million and we hope that it will reach half a billion dollars by June 2022”, the Minister added.
Haque further said that the government is striving hard to extend full support to the freelancers in ease of doing business, bank account opening, bringing foreign remittances to Pakistan, and availability of seamless internet connectivity across the country.
The Federal Minister appreciated the DigiSkills results and said that it has played a commendable role in equipping emerging and existing freelancers with knowledge, skills, tools & techniques necessary to seize the opportunities available internationally in online freelancing marketplaces.
Highlighting DigiSkill’s role especially women participation, Federal Minister for IT said that during the first phase DigiSkills got total enrollments of 2,232,801 from more than 300 cities of Pakistan and from abroad. Out of which 74% (1,653,400) were male and 26% (579,281) were female. Most of these trainees were Pakistani youth (70%) and the majority (60%) of these were students who completed Intermediate or Bachelors. Graphic Design was the most popular course among offered courses.
