LAHORE: Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Chairman Dr Umar Saif said that e-Rozgaar Programme is scaling up rapidly to train graduates for online freelancing in Pakistan, which has now started contributing to the national exchequer. He was addressing while reviewing the progress of the project on Sunday. The meeting was informed that similar centres in 21 districts of Punjab have already been established, in which 2,700 students have enrolled and among them, 1,694 have successfully graduated. The top 15 percent students have already earned $112,000 through online freelancing. Faaiz Zulqarnain has made $7,000 to date in the shortest span of time, it was briefed. E-Rozgaar has partnered with Facebook, incorporating their well sought trainings into e-Rozgaar’s curriculum. Through the Facebook course track, e-Rozgaar is educating trainees by sharing tools, knowledge, tutorials and basic skills which eventually help them become expert developers. Facebook provides free vouchers to Master Trainers to become Blueprint certified. On clearing the learning path, candidates receive Facebook certification apart from the certification received from e-Rozgaar Programme. Other than the Facebook course track, Facebook Developer Circles and PITB have come together since the beginning of January 2018 with the objective to ‘educate, enable and empower’ local communities for developers. The developer circles have been established under the supervision of e-Rozgaar Programme in three cities and expected to expand to three more in future. The three local communities conducted periodic meetups at designated meet up centres. E-Rozgaar has also partnered up with CrossOver to produce high end freelancers and get jobs at their portal. So far, 21 centres are functioning successfully at the University of Engineering & Technology, University of the Punjab, Lahore College for Women University, Centres at FAST Chiniot, Government College Women University Faisalabad, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, University of the Punjab Gujranwala, University of Gujrat, University of The Punjab Jhelum, Lahore College for Women University, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, NFC IET Multan, University of Engineering & Technology Taxila, University of Gujrat Rawalpindi, COMSATS Wah Cantt, COMSATS Sahiwal, University of Sargodha, Government College for Women University Sialkot, University of Education Vehari, COMSATS Attock and University of Education Khushab. Published in Daily Times, May 21ST 2018.