The British Council and the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), the national body for software and IT firms, have joined in a Gilgit roundtable aimed at expanding digital employment opportunities in Gilgit Baltistan and raising graduate employability, with a clear focus on women and young people.
The session took place at Serena Hotel Gilgit under the European Union-funded Team Europe TVET Sector Support Programme. TVET means technical and vocational education and training—practical courses meant to prepare people for work. Organisers brought together government, universities, the IT industry and development partners so colleges and employers can work more closely.
What the meeting set out to do
Talks centred on industry linkages, digital skills and new job paths, and on matching vocational training with what IT firms actually need. Participants looked at how to close the gap between classroom skills and workplace demand, lift graduates’ chances of finding work, and open more space for women in the digital economy.
The stated aim is stronger partnerships among public bodies, training providers and the private sector so young people pick up market-relevant skills and can move into steady jobs or start businesses.
Who spoke at the roundtable
The panel included Sher Ali, director of the Gilgit-Baltistan Technical Education and Skills Department; Muhammad Zohaib Khan, chair of special initiatives at P@SHA; Prof. Dr Abdul Razaq, acting vice chancellor of Karakoram International University (KIU); Naeem Sardar, vice chairman of GBSHA and co-founder of Uconnect Technologies; and Zameer Abbas, secretary IT for Gilgit-Baltistan.
Their presence underlined that the push for digital employment opportunities in Gilgit Baltistan is meant to sit across government skills policy, the university system and local IT entrepreneurship—not only in one ministry or one company.
Where the EU-backed programme fits
The TVET Sector Support Programme is a multi-year initiative funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by the British Council and GIZ. It backs Pakistan’s work to make technical and vocational training better, more relevant to employers and more inclusive, especially in digital and other high-growth fields.
For readers in Gilgit-Baltistan, the immediate news is institutional: a formal conversation among the British Council, P@SHA, GB officials and KIU about skills, hiring and women’s access to digital work—framed as the start of closer collaboration rather than a finished jobs scheme with quotas or hiring targets announced at the meeting.
Aasan alfaaz mein
British Council aur P@SHA ne Gilgit mein ek meeting ki hai taake digital jobs aur skills ki baat ho sake. Focus women aur jawanon par hai, taake training IT companies ki zarurat se mil sake. Yeh kaam EU ke TVET programme ke under hai, jisme British Council aur GIZ saath hain. Agar aap graduate hain ya digital kaam seekhna chahte hain, yeh isara hai ke education aur industry ke darmiyan rabta mazboot karne ki koshish ho rahi hai.
