According to Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Kinnori Matsuda, more than 500 Japanese IT firms will be coming to Pakistan once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides in order to recruit a whole bunch of skilled workers from the local population.
In a meeting with Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfikar Bukhari, the Japanese envoy explained that Japan was running out of skilled IT workers for its top companies. In fact, the country expects to face a severe shortage of 800,000 IT engineers by 2030.
In this regard, the envoy informed Mr. Bukhari that Japan was looking forward to importing Pakistani IT engineers in order to fulfill the requirements of its firms.
The meeting was followed by a video conference with the Japanese IT companies’ association. Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information Technology, Pakistan Software Houses Association and embassies of both countries participated in the meeting.
The association explained that over 100 Japanese IT firms had contacted the embassy following the Pak -Japan skilled workforce agreement in their search for Pakistani IT talent.
“Following the skilled workforce agreement, more than 100 major Japanese IT companies, including NEC Corporation, Mac, Sankyo and Orix Japan, have approached Pakistani embassy in Japan,” the ambassador said.
Mr. Bukhari added that under its new vision, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was expanding its horizons for Pakistani manpower exports by considering options other than the Gulf States.
He informed the participants that the ministry was in close contact with South Korea, Romania, Germany, and Japan, and that sending IT engineers to Japan was its top priority for now.
“I will be making an important visit to Japan next year,” the SAPM said, adding that 2021 would mark a new beginning for Pakistan-Japan relations.
