KARACHI: Hundreds of tech industry entrepreneurs and young IT professionals have made a pledge to ensure that their earnings in the overseas markets will be brought to Pakistan in the form of remittances to support the Pakistani economy and help the country retire its massive debts.
The solemn commitment to this effect was given at the first-ever reunion of the graduates of the mass Information Technology training programme of the non-profit Saylani Welfare International Trust (SWIT) held at Mohatta Palace Karachi.
Maulana Bashir Farooq Qadri SWIT Founder and Chairman in his speech urged the graduates of the IT learning programme in attendance to rise from their seats and make a solemn promise to bring to Pakistan their earnings in the international tech industry through their freelancing work and jobs secured in other countries.
“This is the least these graduates of our mass training initiative should do for the economy of our motherland after securing the latest IT training completely free of charge over the past 10 years,” said the SWIT Chairman.
He said the Saylani Trust would continue with its IT training enabling the freelancers and tech industry professionals to earn $ 100 billion annual foreign exchange for Pakistan to help it retire its foreign debts. He assured that the Saylani Trust would build more training facilities and IT parks in Karachi and other cities to produce a qualified workforce for the Pakistani tech market.
Renowned industrialist, Muhammad Ali Tabba, said that producing IT industry professionals at a mass scale was the step in the right direction to enlist the services of Pakistani youth to end the prevailing economic crisis in the country. He urged the government to fully support the bona fide mass education drives by the private sector and non-profits to produce properly trained human resources for Pakistani and foreign IT industries.
He also asked the graduates of the IT to work with the fullest dedication and commitment in practical life to ensure the progress and development of Pakistan.
Saleemullah State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor said the State Bank has always supported the Pakistani IT industry to increase the export of software and high-tech services from the country.
He said SBP has eased the procedure of opening bank accounts by freelancers with minimal documentation to help them receive remittances from the local and foreign IT industries. “Freelancers and IT professionals had also been allowed by the SBP to keep a percentage of their remittances in foreign exchange with no restriction on usage of these funds”, he added.
Arif Habib Chairman Arif Habib Group reiterated the fullest support of the Pakistani corporate sector to produce a trained IT industry workforce of thousands every year for tech companies in Pakistan and outside the world. He informed that the Naya Nazimabad housing project had been partnering with the Saylani Trust to build a school of emerging sciences and skills education to provide education in new technological fields to deserving students.
Afzal Chamdia, Head of Saylani Trust’s Education Board, told the audience that so far 400,000 candidates have appeared in the mass test in major cities every year to select students for its IT programme and over 90,000 students had so far successfully passed out from Saylani’s IT education programme.
He informed the audience that the alumni of the Saylani Trust’s training programme by launching tech startups, freelancing work and securing jobs in the Pakistani and foreign IT industry have been earning up to $ 25 million annually.
SWIT Chief Operating Officer Muhammad Ghazzal said the Saylani Trust was fully committed to transforming the lives of youth from deprived families in Pakistan by imparting them education in the latest technological fields.
On the occasion, Yousuf Husain Faysal Bank CEO and President, Zia Khan renowned IT trainer, noted industrialist Zaki Bashir, Turkish Consul General in Karachi Cemal Sangu, tech industry leader Asif Peer, Chairman of Pakistan Software Houses Association Muhammad Zohaib Khan, Tufail Ahmed Khan and Fahad Sheikh of Pakistan Freelancers’ Association, and other tech industry representatives also spoke and announced their fullest support for the graduates of the Saylani’s IT training programme.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024