President for skillsets development of IT freelancers

President Dr. Arif Alvi said on Saturday that the global information and technology business represented huge opportunities for the country’s self-employed, highlighting their improving skills to capture the huge world market.

In a virtual speech at Freelance Fest, the president said new opportunities in the IT sector were more rewarding than physical business setups.

He said there were reports of Pakistani freelancers ranking third in the world and noted that there were around 3 million IT freelancers working in the country.

The president stressed that there should be a gradual increase in the number of IT freelancers every year by 100 percent, as the global market yearned for people trained in this field.

He said that Pakistan could make progress in this sector and strengthen its income by attracting foreign investment through self-employment in the IT sector.

He said the returns from TI were immediate and underscored the need to mobilize human resources.

The president said that during the ‘California gold rush,’ people used to head to California, USA, to try their luck. He compared the existing opportunities in the IT sector with those of the ‘gold rush’.

“It’s like a gold rush where they will have to upskill people,” he said, adding that the latest devices and tools, such as smartphones, should be used, with an emphasis on making such facilities accessible to independent workers.

Praising the efforts of the Ministry of Information and Technology, he said that the government did not impose any tax on such businesses so that the self-employed could attract foreign investment and improve their businesses and the national economy.

He also appreciated the role of the Pakistan Software Board and suggested that it could bring more innovative mechanisms to help people increase their reach as freelancers.

The president said the field could help create job opportunities for young people and bolster the national economy.

The president said that although there were elements of uncertainty for the independent business, it had the reliability to generate income. He said there were around 450 million freelancers around the world.

He said that IT skills could be improved without the requirement of any sophisticated knowledge.

The president said that the freelancing business also held great opportunities for women.