Pakistan Launches World’s First Government Backed Program to Train Freelancers

DigiSkills, Ignite’s flagship program to train 1 million freelancers in Pakistan, has been formally inaugurated by Anusha Rehman, Minister for Telecom and IT on her second last day of ministership ahead of the government’s retirement.

A brainchild of Anusha Rehman, DigiSkills is said to be Minister’s favorite program, as she believes that the program has the potential to single-handedly take the country’s IT exports to over $10 billion in just a few years.

For those who don’t know, DigiSkills is a first of its kind government-backed initiative that aims to train 1 million freelancers in Pakistan.

The program will comprise of online courses, and every Pakistan is invited to enroll in these courses totally free of charge.

Every individual will have to take two courses, one of which would be “freelancing”, while the other can be selected from one the following (with more courses to be added with time):

• E-Commerce Management
• Digital Marketing
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• QuickBooks
• WordPress
• AutoCAD
• Creative Writing
• Graphics Design

With DigiSkills up and running, any Pakistani  — within Pakistan or abroad — can register in any of the above courses to learn the skills to ultimately start offering their services online.

How to Register with DigiSkills

Simply go to this URL to enroll yourself in courses currently available or you can wait until more courses are made available later on.

The “freelancing” course, a must for any aspiring freelancer, will focus on do’s and don’ts of freelancing.

Hisham Sarwar, a freelancer with experience of over 15 years and the top freelancer on Guru.com for several years running, is going to teach you the tips and tricks of freelancing in the simplest possible way.

In addition to freelancing, you can pick any other course to develop your skills and start offering your freelancing services to the world.

What to Expect from DigiSkills Courses

DigiSkills is similar to Udemy or any other online education institute. Pakistanis will be allowed to enroll for a course, with video-based training/lessons given on a weekly basis.

You can expect quizzes, tests and evaluations during the course. If you follow the course outlines and instructions well, you’ll be well set to tackle any challenge in your field of choice.

Anyone can enroll in a course anytime, regardless of the time or date, and can start learning on a regular basis.

Background of DigiSkills

Online education is not a new phenomenon, however, DigiSkills has the distinction of being the world’s first government program for training freelancers through online courses.

The idea is to impart skills through which people can earn a living for themselves.

With over 54 million internet users in the country, Yousaf Hussain, the CEO of Ignite, thinks that freelancing is Pakistan’s best bet to overcome domestic economic issues.

He thinks that with millions of educated youth and availability of high-speed internet, we just need to train them with the right skills to export services worth billions of dollars.

Yousaf Hussain told ProPakistani that a series of domain experts were consulted to tailor the courses and to make sure that curriculum was in-line with modern day demands while keeping local dynamics in mind.

Program will run for at least two and half years, until it might get extended for another term, depending on the outcome.

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