Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has received an amount of Rs. 1 billion from the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication to hold various skill development training programs through boot camps and batches across the country.
These programs are likely to be commenced this year, starting from major cities of the country. Professionals and graduate students could enroll in the boot camps and batches without any charges, according to an official at PSEB.
These programs will be designed for IT graduates and professionals, in particular, aimed at building their capacity in-demand fields of the local IT industry and various soft skills among the participants.
The boot camps will be 4 to 5 months long depending on the subjects and provide human resources to cater to the local industry, which is facing a shortage of skilled manpower these days.
PSEB is working with various stakeholders for the design of curriculum, practical training sessions, and the availability of trainers and supportive staff from the industry. The board will also hire several experienced professionals from local and foreign IT companies as trainers for these boot camps.
These programs will be organized in collaboration with various IT companies and software houses. In this connection, the board is seeking the participation of interested IT companies, having expertise in training and capacity building of professionals and graduates.
According to estimates, more than 25,000 IT graduates are passed out every year from various universities in Pakistan but merely 5,000 of leading universities are employed by local industry as per the prevailing requirement of the job market, whereas the rest of the students with outdated skills do survive for getting high paid jobs.
Setting up these boot camps will upgrade the skills of these graduates as per the requirement of the local IT industry, and the job markets, as well as companies’ demand, will be met through this way—a win-win situation for graduates and companies.
Pakistan’s IT industry has been on the track of growth for the past two years with several emerging opportunities of automation, BPOs, e-commerce in the local and global markets.
The exports of the industry recorded an all-time high level in the last many straight years with a wider scope in the near future. To enhance the volume of Pakistan’s exports, the development of trained human resources on a sustainable level is needed in the country.
Pakistan’s IT Industry Needs 20,000 Professionals To Meet Exports Orders
Pakistan IT industry is in dire need of 20,000 IT experienced professionals in in-demands fields to meet the demand from domestic and exports markets.
P@SHA, the representative body of the IT industry, has surveyed 148 leading companies out of 5,000 registered member companies on the skill analysis of the sector.
At present, various IT companies and software houses have already initiated in-house programs for the training of IT professionals. However, in order to enhance the human resource demand, the relevant department should organize boot camps in various cities of the country at the earliest.
Pakistan’s IT exports grew to over $1 billion from July to November 2021. It is projected to cross $3 billion by the end of this financial year.
Top in-demand Technologies & Tools
According to the survey, professionals of the below top 20 in-demand technologies and tools are most sought after in the country as there is a direct correlation between the in-demand technologies and the lack of availability of skilled resources.
1. Javascript Fullstack (MEAN/MERN)
2. C# .NET
3. React Native (Hybrid)
4. Android – JAVA
5. PHP (Laravel/CodeIgnitor/ Yii/Zend/Drupal)
6. Python
7. Flutter (Hybrid)
8. iOS – Objective C & SWIFT
9. AWS Developer- Associate
10. Java
11. Redis/ElasticSearch AWS
12. Agile Certified Practioner
13. MICROSOFT SQL
14. Professional Scrum Master™
15. Ruby on Rails
16. Salesforce
17. Unity
18. Selenium
19. Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
20. Postgres
21. It has been observed that the need for human resources with these technical skills is highest across the country. Keeping in mind the current technology trends, IT companies need to hire around 20 professionals in the next 6-8 months for the technology tracks mentioned in the PASHA survey.
Source: Pro Pakistani