At the Building Tomorrow event in Karachi on 22 September 2025 the Ministry of IT & Telecom and the Pakistan Software Export Board unveiled Prime Minister’s SkillTech Pakistan, a new national platform designed to scale digital skills training and industry linkages across the country. SkillTech Pakistan brings together six flagship programmes to deliver internships, certifications and industry hubs that prepare youth for global tech roles.
Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the initiative will equip Pakistan’s young workforce with internationally recognised skills while helping technology firms meet global compliance standards. She paid tribute to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s digital vision and highlighted earlier successes, noting that DigiSkills has already trained more than 3 million Pakistanis and that IT exports reached a record US $691 million between July and August 2025.
Abu Bakr, CEO of PSEB, described SkillTech Pakistan as a practical roadmap to make youth more employable and to position Pakistan as a regional digital hub. “This programme is about making our youth employable, competitive, and confident in the global marketplace,” he said, while outlining plans to train more than 2.1 million Pakistanis over the next three years.
SkillTech Pakistan will include domains such as Skill Bridge, which connects ICT graduates with employers through paid internships and apprenticeships, and the Certified to Export or C2X initiative to help IT firms secure international certifications including ISO and GDPR compliance. Skilllift 1.0 bootcamps will deliver advanced training in areas like AI, cloud computing, web and mobile development and software quality assurance, and the platform will support industry hubs and partnerships to sustain these pathways.
The programme emphasises practical outcomes for Pakistani students and employers by closing the academia-industry gap, creating paid on-the-job training routes and strengthening compliance capabilities for export markets. By combining mass training with targeted industry support, SkillTech Pakistan aims to convert skills development into measurable employment and export gains for the local tech sector.
Officials expect the platform’s combined interventions to drive talent discovery, boost international competitiveness and expand opportunities for young professionals across Pakistan, while strengthening linkages between training providers, universities and employers to sustain long-term growth in the technology industry.
