‘Pakistan won’t prosper till its women become a part of the workforce.’
This quote by Dr. Umar Saif in the inauguration of first e-Rozgaar for women center rings with nothing but truth. This is precisely why the need for e-Rozgaar center for women was raised.
The launch for the first ever e-Rozgaar center for Women took place on the 26th of May at the Government College Women University, Faisalabad. Chairman PITB Dr. Umar Saif was invited as the chief chest who inaugurated the center and was welcomed by the Vice Chancellor Government College Women University Prof. Dr. Naureen Aziz Qureshi. Director General E-Governance Sajid Latif, Rector University of Faisalabad Dr. Majeed, MPA Dr. Najma Afzal, Director Entrepreneurship Nabeel Qadeer and Program Manager Mehak Jamal also graced the event with their presence.
The center was formally launched by the ribbon cutting ceremony by Dr. Umar Saif at Government College Women University. He took a moment to express his beliefs that this program would take forward the economy of Pakistan by gearing up self-employment as in the given circumstances 250,000 graduates are produced annually against 50,000 job opportunities, an
d this is not enough to meet the requirement. The rest of the event took place in the auditorium which was filled to the brim with enthusiastic aspiring female students and the university’s faculty. The gathering was of a remarkable number of 800 people.
The stage was taken by the honorable Vice Chancellor Dr. Naureen Aziz Qureshi. She was overwhelmed at having given the honour of making her college the first center for women in Punjab She reassured the guests that this center will produce the best female freelancers in Pakistan. She then welcomed Dr. Umar Saif to speak to the students. Dr. Saif was a beam of encouragement for all the young females present as he bucked them up to always achieve and do more than expected. He concluded the inaugural address by communicating his high expectations for this center and that he hopes ‘GCWUF will prove to be an example for women nationwide!
Government College Women University is the first e-Rozgaar center but it isn’t going to be the only one. There are 5 such centers planned across Punjab which will train female candidates in three main course tracks; technical, non-technical and creative design.
The e-Rozgaar program is a joint project of Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology & Tourism. Their aim is youth empowerment through freelancing and earning online. In the first phase 10,000 candidates will be trained in three different batches in one year. 40 training centers are being established in 36 districts of Punjab. The training will enable the young generation to produce approximate income of Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 80,000 per month while working from home.
Statistics:
Out of the 175 female candidates shortlisted from Faisalabad, 61 have a Bachelor’s degree, 92 have a Master’s degree and 22 have an M.Phil in a variety of disciplines. 33,105 applications were submitted to PITB for the registration. The application data reveals that 16 Ph.D., 1794 MPhil, 15574 Masters, 15143 graduates and 578 B.Tech (Honors) applied for this program. Applications were sent from all over the province.
The event was concluded by the presentation of a token of gratitude by Dr. Naureen Aziz Qureshi to Dr. Umar Saif, and in turn he presented a token of appreciation to the vice chancellor. The event ended on an energetic note as all the guests posed for a picture before proceeding for tea and snacks, which were all made by the students of the Home Economics department.
The e-Rozgaar center holds much promise and prosper for the females of Pakistan, and it can be expected to open online doors for all the girls living behind closed walls.