ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Friday extended its registration deadline for the centralised test being held for Computer Science and IT graduates to secure apprenticeships in top IT companies of Pakistan.
The regulatory body has extended the registration deadline till January 3, 2024. However, the January 7 test date remains unchanged.
The decision to extend the registration deadline was reached during a virtual meeting of Vice Chancellors/Rectors and Heads of Departments of Computer Science/IT of all public and private sector higher education institutions (HEIs) and is aimed at ensuring that the maximum number of eligible students register themselves and avail the opportunity.
As per the HEC, the students enrolled in the seventh semester of Computer Science/IT-related disciplines offered in recognised public and private sector universities and affiliated / constituent colleges are encouraged to register through the “Graduate Test” option on the Virtual University (VU) website.
Meanwhile, the HEC chairman has advised the universities, especially the IT and Computer Science Departments, to ensure that seventh-semester students register themselves and participate in the test.
The official further underscored that the primary objective of the initiative is to ensure that IT graduates are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, and attributes to excel in the ever-changing IT industry.
Furthermore, the test will allow the regulatory body to identify the academic/training gaps in fresh IT graduates, which may be addressed through specialized modules/apprenticeships or boot camps to be aligned with industry requirements, he added.
HEC, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of IT and Telecommunications, National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and Pakistan IT Industry Association (P@SHA), aim to bridge IT industry-academia gap and introduce ways to improve the market readiness of IT students.
Students qualifying for the test will be offered placement in IT companies including top IT exporters in Pakistan through P@SHA to acquire hands-on experience on real-time projects.
The qualifying candidates will also be considered for credit hours exemption in the eighth semester against electives or mandatory field experience. Also, the spring of 2024 will be the first session for the industry placement programme.
Upon successful completion of the co-op programme, the credentials of the candidates with recommendations shall be placed on PSEB and P@SHA portals for access to a large pool of IT companies leading to job offers.
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