PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Friday claimed that no information technology graduate in the province would be jobless during the next one year as his government was encouraging the youth to register new IT companies.

He said that the provincial government was taking all out steps to turn the province into a hub of information technology and transparency.

He was speaking at a three-day “Peshawar Civic Hackathon” jointly arranged by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board (KPITB), University of Engineering & Technology (UET) and World Bank, according to a handout issued here.

Mr Khattak said that during next six months to one year time, no IT graduate in the province would be jobless as the government would raise the number of registered IT companies from the current 70 to 100 companies.

Provincial Minster for IT Shahram Khan Tarakai, Dean UET Dr Zahid Mehmood, KPITB Managing Director Siddiqullah, and other IT experts addressed the function. They highlighted importance and various aspects of Hackathon aimed at speedy IT solutions.

The chief minister invited the youth to take full advantage of the steps taken by provincial government, start their own IT businesses and thus create opportunities for investment and jobs to contribute to development and prosperity of the province and its people.

Interestingly, he said most IT companies were owned by entrepreneurs aged 25-45 and that many countries preferred outsourcing IT persons from Pakistan because they found them intelligent, hardworking and committed.

“The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa needs help of IT experts to ensure efficient delivery in healthcare, education, besides addressing civic issues poverty,” said Mr Khattak.

The chief minister regretted that most of the developing countries, including Pakistan, had not developed the quality and pace of service delivery to public.

He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was suffering the same fate, which he linked to lack of strategy for service delivery, continuous improvement, precise management, effective operations, technology, discipline and standardisation.

Mr Khattak said software development was a high growth industry and formed a major segment of the vast information technology market and would continue to do so in future.

“A developed software industry with a focus on exports would mean better employment opportunities, reduced brain drain, improvement in foreign exchange earnings and per capita income, nd higher standards of living leading to a better quality of life.

A developed local software industry will not only meet KP’s own needs, but will also serve as a training ground for capturing export markets,” said the CM.

The chief minister said that the provincial government had decided to further streamline its two bodies, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board and the Directorate of IT, to facilitate both private and public sectors.

He said KPITB had established two IT parks one each in Peshawar and Abbottabad that were hosting about 71 companies.

“The 80 per cent subsidies given to these companies and free dedicated broadband for high speed connectivity were the efforts and investments taken by the provincial government to make the province the hub of IT/ICT in Pakistan,” he added.

Mr Khattak said that the provincial government’s effort towards building a knowledge-driven economy as aimed at attracting massive investment in e-government projects.

He said his had also introduced e-youth strategies and was offering paid internships and subsidisedb trainings to youth.