KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has approved Rs500 million to start IT certificate programmes to enhance skills of students and professionals across the province with a focus on a poverty reduction strategy.

The CM said that the programme would provide practical skills and industry-recognised certifications to stand out in a competitive job market.

To this effect, a meeting regarding the signing of memorandum of understanding was held, which was attended by chief secretary Asif Hyder Shah, chairman of HEC Prof Tariq Rafi, secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, secretary information, science & technology Noor Ahmad Samon, secretary of U&B Abbas Baloch, VC NED University Dr Suresh Lodhi, VC IBA Sukkur Dr Asif Shaikh, VC Mehran University Prof Tauha Hussain, IT Depts Member Ayaz Ugaili and others, here on Friday.

The IT secretary briefed the chief minister that the NED university would offer IT courses in Karachi Division and TharparkarDistrict,MehranUniversity would cover Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas Divisions and Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur and IBA University would cover Larkana Divisions.

The programme is initially designed to benefit 10,000 youth, with the poten-tial for scaling up.

The CM provided Rs500 million to the Sindh IT dept under the `Initiative of Capacity Building` to the respective universities.

The chief minister was informed that the IT certificate programme included Certified JAVA Developer, Certified Python Developer, Certified Database Administrator, Certified Graphic Designer, Certified E-Commerce Professional, Certified Digital Marketing Professional, Certified Web Developer, Certified Mobile Application Developer and Certified Data Scientist.

In response to a question, the IT secretary informed the chief minister that each certificate had a two-month duration.

The certification courses will be conducted five days a week, from Monday to Friday. Each batch will consist of 30 to 35 participants. The programme will be conducted in two phases; IT certification in the first phase and incentivisation of the selected/top-ranked participants. All IT certifications will be offered physically at the centres, he told.

At the conclusion, an the memorandum of understanding was signed by the IT secretary with NED University Karachi, IBA Sukkur, Mehran University Jamshoro.-APP