Technical Trainings for Socioeconomically Deprived Students

High End Education and Training (HEET) Technical Training in Graphic Designing, Web Designing and Data Sciences for Socioeconomically Deprived Students

Introduction:

With the increasing requirement of technical training in information technology as well as the importance being given towards skill based sustainable livelihood in developing countries such as Pakistan, it is important that the necessary infrastructural development in these countries are taken into consideration. Recently Pakistan has been identified by the World Bank, the World Health Organization and UNICEF with the largest percentage of youth by population ratio. However, it has also been noted that the decreasing per capita investment in education, socioeconomic limitations in opportunities, rising inflation, and decreased opportunities for international trainings has hindered their options.

In this aspect, high-end technical education has helped in bridging the gap and increasing sustainable livelihood opportunities for these students. High-end technical education focuses on practical and theoretical training in technologies which are industrial requirements and are standard for corporations and industries. These trainings include web design, graphic design, data science development kits, database management, and data security development. This is in contrast with high tech technical education which focuses on cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence. High-end technical education is cost-effective, sustainable and is not capital intensive – something which can be achieved by all trained apprentices with support from a training center as well as through guidance about freelancing opportunities.

Objectives:

By the end of the project the following objectives are expected to be achieved

1. 30 trained apprentices with government registered certification for one year diploma in information technology.
2. A state of the art information technology hub with 30 government standard computers which provides freelancing opportunities for 100 registered apprentices.
3. MOUs with at least 2 corporate/industry clients which will integrate internship opportunities for the 30 apprentices, which will transform into work opportunities for the apprentices.

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

The monitoring and evaluation plan will focus on the apprentice health and well-being, gaining insight into the difficulties they are facing. It will also focus on the parents by reinforcing the benefit that these children will have from this intervention and the overall improvement in their health and well-being. The monitoring and evaluation reports will be shared with the donors on a monthly basis.

The apprentice details will be collected and finalized and shared with donors. The project will ensure that the students are completing the entire course to completion.

The monitoring and evaluation through tests ensures that the theory and practice of the apprentices are determined and analyzed in accordance with international and national requirements. This will ensure that the apprentices will have the skills and qualifications to compete within the national framework as well as have sustainable sources of income from international clients. This will also ensure that the apprentices are able to work as registered members of the IT community

Sustainability

NHSD had established linkages with industries and corporations whereby their projects are completed by the trained apprentices when required. Furthermore the trained apprentices are going to be registered with Pakistan Software Export Bureau.

PSEB is a registering body for the apprentices both to secure their livelihood as well as provide them with a national level opportunity to develop their portfolios and to gain a foothold for sustainable sources of income. This is especially important because these freelancers will also have an opportunity to attain a salaried income with a corporation that has international linkages.

The freelancer registrations will be with Upwork and Toptotal, both of which respected freelancer hubs are and which are recognized by PSEB. The apprentices who will register with these platforms (Upwork, PSEB and Toptotal) will also be facilitated towards establishing their first bank accounts if they have not yet opened them. This will ensure that the apprentices, now as freelancers, will become taxpayers and increase the economic developments of the country.

NHSD will also utilize its corporate and industry connections and liaisons to generate business opportunities whereby the freelancers will become a sustainable asset for the organization to grow. It has already established an agreement with an IT registered firm, La Compte, and has been working with them towards technical training since 2021.