Interim govt announces plan to open 10,000 e-job centres 

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker Minister for IT and Telecom unveiled a long-term policy initiative on Wednesday aimed at establishing approximately 10,000 e-job centres nationwide, called e-rozgar centres. IT Minister, Dr. Umar Saif highlighted the need to assist freelancers, stating that many lack proper workspaces.

“An estimated 1.5 million freelancers operate regularly in Pakistan,” Dr. Umar Saif stated via Twitter. He emphasised that improving the convenience for freelancers was crucial to enhancing their work performance and efficiency. 

According to Dr. Saif, a projected potential annual earnings of around $10 billion is possible for one million facilitated freelancers. This projection factors in various measures, such as permitting them to retain up to 50% of their export earnings and offering easier payment methods, expected to foster freelance activities in the country. 

The Ministry of IT and Telecom identifies that a significant portion of freelancers hail from smaller cities and towns. Moreover, female IT experts predominantly come from remote areas where relevant job opportunities are scarce.

Recognizing the limitations faced by freelancers, including inadequate work environments and slow internet speeds at home, Dr. Umar Saif emphasised that the new policy would equip e-rozgar centres with all necessary facilities. Each centre is expected to accommodate up to 100 individuals.

Under the scheme, owners of properties seeking conversion into e-rozgar centres, capable of hosting 100 people, will receive interest-free loans for the conversion process. Speaking to the media, the caretaker minister highlighted that the networking opportunities and supportive environment within the e-rozgar centres would encourage freelancers to pursue high-end projects.

Dr. Saif took the opportunity to commend his own caretaker government’s efforts, citing 13 major steps taken in the past four months to bolster the IT and telecom sector.

Contextualising the numbers:

In the video address announcing this initiative, Dr. Umar Saif stated that currently 1.5 million youngsters work as freelancers in Pakistan. Currently, there is no official data that calculates the number of freelancers in Pakistan, however the export remittance can be categorised into a freelance category. He further said that by facilitating 1 million freelancers in e-rozgar centres, the export potential of freelancing crosses $10 billion. One of the first questions that comes to mind is whether these 1 million freelancers in the 10,000 e-rozgar centres will be onboarded or are the existing freelancers expected to join these centres. Because in the latter case, the projections, are no short of a fairy tale.

In its move to centralise what is historically meant to be a decentralised mode of employment, the government’s projections require Pakistan to massively increase its freelance productivity level. According to his projection, a facilitated freelancer has the potential to earn at least $10 thousand per year. 

To put this number in perspective, it is important to look at the current productivity levels. In an official report published by the Ministry of IT in 2022, total income of freelancers through services export remittances in Pakistan amounted to $400 million dollars in FY22. To increase the potential to $10 billion, Pakistan will have to increase this freelancer income potential by 25 times. Another way to look at this number in FY23 Pakistan’s total net services exports amounted to almost $7.5 billion, which is $2.5 billion less than the projected freelance export remittance.