The British Council and the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) have joined forces to expand digital employment for young people in Gilgit-Baltistan, with women graduates named as a particular focus. The two organisations held a roundtable on industry linkages and graduate employability at the Serena Hotel in Gilgit, under the European Union-funded TVET Sector Support Programme.

The meeting, reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan on 4 November, brought together government officials, academics, IT businesses and development partners to look at how training in the region can better match what employers actually need. Two thematic sessions examined digital skills development, the changing requirements of industry, and the employment opportunities open to graduates in the region.

Who took part in the Gilgit roundtable

The panel included Sher Ali, Director of the Gilgit-Baltistan Technical Education and Skills Department; Muhammad Zohaib Khan, Chair of Special Initiatives at P@SHA; Professor Dr Abdul Razaq, Acting Vice Chancellor of Karakoram International University; Naeem Sardar, Vice Chairman of the Gilgit-Baltistan Software Houses Association and co-founder of Uconnect Technologies; and Zameer Abbas, Secretary for Information Technology in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The discussion centred on a familiar problem for graduates in the region: qualifications that do not line up with the skills that software houses and IT employers are hiring for. The roundtable looked at how closer working between training institutions and industry could close that gap, so that graduates leave with skills relevant to available work rather than certificates alone.

What the TVET programme offers

The roundtable sits within Team Europe's TVET Sector Support Programme, an EU-funded initiative jointly implemented by the British Council and GIZ. The programme is building women-centred Centres of Excellence and supporting 20 digital and high-tech qualifications, covering areas including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, robotics, software and web development, and creative technologies.

According to the British Council, the programme aims to equip 2,000 women with market-relevant skills and pathways into employment, apprenticeships, freelancing and entrepreneurship. It also includes employer roundtables, apprenticeships and on-the-job training, and revised IT curricula developed with the Higher Education Commission. The partnership with P@SHA is part of that work, linking the training system directly with the companies that hire its graduates.

P@SHA also met the Gilgit-Baltistan planning minister

On the same day, a P@SHA delegation led by Muhammad Zohaib Khan met Gilgit-Baltistan's Minister for Planning and Development, Syed Jalal Ali Shah, to discuss growth of the IT sector in the region. The talks covered skills development, IT trade delegations and future projects aimed at widening the region's links with larger markets. No specific commitments, timelines or funding arrangements were disclosed.

The region's technology sector remains small. A P@SHA diagnostic study published in late 2025 estimated annual revenue from Gilgit-Baltistan's IT and IT-enabled services sector at between 15 million and 18 million US dollars, with local companies offering software development, web design and basic IT services to clients in Pakistani cities and abroad. The Gilgit-Baltistan Software Houses Association has previously pointed to long power cuts and internet disruption as obstacles for local companies and freelancers, problems that any training or trade promotion effort will have to work around.

What this means for jobseekers in Gilgit-Baltistan

It is important to be clear about what was announced. The roundtable did not advertise any vacancies, publish a hiring number, or set a date for applications. It was a discussion about collaboration between trainers and employers, not a recruitment drive. Young people in Gilgit-Baltistan looking for work should therefore treat this as a sign of growing attention to digital jobs in the region, not as an open vacancy.

Even so, the direction of travel matters. With the TVET programme's qualifications, the planned Centres of Excellence and P@SHA's engagement with the provincial government, the infrastructure for digital employment in Gilgit-Baltistan is being built piece by piece. Graduates who gain recognised digital skills, particularly in software, cloud and cybersecurity, will be best placed to benefit as that work grows. Sources: Associated Press of Pakistan, Skardu Times, British Council and CW Pakistan.