Pakistan's lesson in teaching IT professionals
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Farhan Bokhari
PAKISTAN'S IT industry has seen rapid growth in career opportunities for young professionals -- in spite of being a late starter by comparison with the much larger IT industry in India.
And yet Pakistan's IT entrepreneurs argue there is still a gap between the curriculum taught at schools and the demands from their industry.
The value of Pakistan's annual IT exports is estimated at a couple of hundred million dollars. But there is growing demand from within the country and this has prompted some to argue that annual sales exceed $1.0 bn.
Growing software sales have forced expansion of companies that were once only small or mid-sized operations. Ashraf Kapadia, president of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (Pasha) cites the case of his own company, known as Systems Ltd, which employed 100 people five years ago and now has a staff of 750. "This is after all an HR-intensive industry. The demand for people grows rapidly as the industry expands," he says.
While career opportunities are growing, so are incentives such as the salaries for entrants. Fresh entrants with a degree from one of Pakistan's IT schools can expect to earn in the range of Rps15,000 ($250) to Rps24,000 -- significantly more than arts graduates.
The wage may be lower than in the western world. But salaries below world class standards result in lower production costs.
However, these wages often double within five years and triple within eight. This is the result of growing demand in an industry that is expanding rapidly.
And yet, Nadeem Malik, head of NAXIS, an IT company, says there remains a disconnect between the rapidly changing needs of the industry and the type of training given to students at IT schools. "Many young professionals have to have considerable additional training before they can come up to speed with what we are looking for," he says.
This suggests IT schools that offer a curriculum in line with the trends in the industry are likely to be of interest not only to prospective students but also receive support from companies seeking staff.
Pakistan's most sought-after IT professionals come from schools such as the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) or Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST).
Kapadia notes that the future for professionals will be driven largely by the extent to which conditions in the IT industry improve.
He notes a number of present-day challenges faced by IT businesses. These include the absence of an IT-friendly city or location where professionals and companies work.
Additionally, there are rising costs for office space in some of the most sought-after areas, which has raised costs for companies. Kapadia also cites frequent power cuts and rising electricity bills as a factor that has raised costs for an industry that is heavily dependent on an affordable and reliable supply. "All these factors are central to the way this industry will see its growth with the passage of time. That, of course, will decide how many career opportunities we get to create."
For the moment, business people say that in addition to opportunities in IT houses, the continued success of Pakistani banks and the increasing use of IT-based automation has brought added scope for professionals. Young IT graduates searching for opportunities now routinely venture to banks that have seen record profits in the past few years.
Just in the past year, Standard Chartered -- the global bank that concentrates on emerging markets -- and ABN Armo, the Dutch bank, have each bought Pakistani banks to expand their operations in the country. Expansion of these foreign banks is likely to increase opportunities for IT professionals.
Besides, other areas of prospective employment such as fast-emerging private TV channels, have begun to raise the demand for IT-trained professionals with knowledge of areas such as animation and computer-based graphic designing. While opportunities grow in Pakistan, professionals are able to reach to markets in the Middle East and Asia.
In the past, Pakistani graduates usually stayed either within the country or sought to travel to north America or Europe in search of career opportunities.
But since the US terrorist attacks in 2001 prompted concerns over the country's inks to Al Qaeda, growing difficulties on issuance of visas to Pakistani nationals have influenced the patterns of travel of Young Professionals.
Some analysts continue to warn that Pakistan's IT industry is coming close to saturation where opportunities shrink.
However, the growth in the country's telecommunications sector, and a significant expansion of high-speed connections, continues to fuel the spread of internet usage across the country.
For IT graduates, this promise of fast-rising demand from domestic consumers has become an incentive as big -- if not bigger -- as the prospects tied to the export market.
.............................
Under syndication
arrangement with FE
PAKISTAN'S IT industry has seen rapid growth in career opportunities for young professionals -- in spite of being a late starter by comparison with the much larger IT industry in India.
And yet Pakistan's IT entrepreneurs argue there is still a gap between the curriculum taught at schools and the demands from their industry.
The value of Pakistan's annual IT exports is estimated at a couple of hundred million dollars. But there is growing demand from within the country and this has prompted some to argue that annual sales exceed $1.0 bn.
Growing software sales have forced expansion of companies that were once only small or mid-sized operations. Ashraf Kapadia, president of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (Pasha) cites the case of his own company, known as Systems Ltd, which employed 100 people five years ago and now has a staff of 750. "This is after all an HR-intensive industry. The demand for people grows rapidly as the industry expands," he says.
While career opportunities are growing, so are incentives such as the salaries for entrants. Fresh entrants with a degree from one of Pakistan's IT schools can expect to earn in the range of Rps15,000 ($250) to Rps24,000 -- significantly more than arts graduates.
The wage may be lower than in the western world. But salaries below world class standards result in lower production costs.
However, these wages often double within five years and triple within eight. This is the result of growing demand in an industry that is expanding rapidly.
And yet, Nadeem Malik, head of NAXIS, an IT company, says there remains a disconnect between the rapidly changing needs of the industry and the type of training given to students at IT schools. "Many young professionals have to have considerable additional training before they can come up to speed with what we are looking for," he says.
This suggests IT schools that offer a curriculum in line with the trends in the industry are likely to be of interest not only to prospective students but also receive support from companies seeking staff.
Pakistan's most sought-after IT professionals come from schools such as the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) or Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST).
Kapadia notes that the future for professionals will be driven largely by the extent to which conditions in the IT industry improve.
He notes a number of present-day challenges faced by IT businesses. These include the absence of an IT-friendly city or location where professionals and companies work.
Additionally, there are rising costs for office space in some of the most sought-after areas, which has raised costs for companies. Kapadia also cites frequent power cuts and rising electricity bills as a factor that has raised costs for an industry that is heavily dependent on an affordable and reliable supply. "All these factors are central to the way this industry will see its growth with the passage of time. That, of course, will decide how many career opportunities we get to create."
For the moment, business people say that in addition to opportunities in IT houses, the continued success of Pakistani banks and the increasing use of IT-based automation has brought added scope for professionals. Young IT graduates searching for opportunities now routinely venture to banks that have seen record profits in the past few years.
Just in the past year, Standard Chartered -- the global bank that concentrates on emerging markets -- and ABN Armo, the Dutch bank, have each bought Pakistani banks to expand their operations in the country. Expansion of these foreign banks is likely to increase opportunities for IT professionals.
Besides, other areas of prospective employment such as fast-emerging private TV channels, have begun to raise the demand for IT-trained professionals with knowledge of areas such as animation and computer-based graphic designing. While opportunities grow in Pakistan, professionals are able to reach to markets in the Middle East and Asia.
In the past, Pakistani graduates usually stayed either within the country or sought to travel to north America or Europe in search of career opportunities.
But since the US terrorist attacks in 2001 prompted concerns over the country's inks to Al Qaeda, growing difficulties on issuance of visas to Pakistani nationals have influenced the patterns of travel of Young Professionals.
Some analysts continue to warn that Pakistan's IT industry is coming close to saturation where opportunities shrink.
However, the growth in the country's telecommunications sector, and a significant expansion of high-speed connections, continues to fuel the spread of internet usage across the country.
For IT graduates, this promise of fast-rising demand from domestic consumers has become an incentive as big -- if not bigger -- as the prospects tied to the export market.
.............................
Under syndication
arrangement with FE