Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) and the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) have signed a wide-ranging memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen the collaboration between industry and academia for gearing towards skill development, job placement, and industry-driven curriculum and research.
The signing ceremony was attended by Punjab IT Minister Dr. Arsalan Khalid, who expressed his enthusiasm to support the initiative. He outlined the Punjab government’s vision for information technology (IT) to create a government-industry-academic framework for revamping skills-based criteria that graduates can bring to Pakistan’s growing market.
Chairman P@SHA Badar Khushnood echoed the need for stronger linkages and a robust human resource development ecosystem in the country. He said, “This partnership will ensure innovative, market-oriented, evolving and internationally-aligned IT skills development and training programs that can support diverse capabilities and business verticals including finance and banking, e-commerce, retail and distribution, healthcare services, agriculture, food processing, learning technologies, and large-scale manufacturing.”
Vice Chancellor LUMS Dr. Arshad Ahmad said that this partnership could provide an excellent collaborative model of curriculum development that will eventually position the IT industry to compete regionally and beyond. He said, “It is time to lay the foundation for one of Pakistan’s growth sectors that will have a huge impact in opening doors for our youth who are keen to participate.”
P@SHA said in its statement that the collaboration will usher in a multitude of activities, including seminars, training workshops, exhibitions, conferences, trade fairs, job placement and internships.
Pakistan’s IT industry can position itself as a major driver of economic growth; having achieved $2.62 billion in exports over the last year. According to P@SHA, digital transformation could add over $59.7 billion in annual economic value by 2030; equivalent to almost 19 percent of the country’s GDP.
While Pakistan has over 300,000 IT professionals, and its universities are producing over 25,000 IT graduates annually, the industry struggles to recruit skilled graduates as IT companies hire only 10 percent of the applicants. The partnership with LUMS is a major step in addressing this gap through reskilling and upskilling initiatives by relevant stakeholders, said P@SHA.
