Plus W株式会社

Announcement: Global recruiting/domestic side job supporting agency, Plus W, Inc. (Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo, Representative and President: Wakako Sakurai), appeared in Japan-Pakistan Trade & Investment Seminar hosted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Pakistan Board of Investment (BOI) on September 30 in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan.

Photo from the left:Jamil Ahmad Qureshi, Director General of Pakistan Board of Investment (BOI). Kango Hayashi, Plus W Overseas Division Manager / Japan Centre Director. Arooba Gillani, Japan Centre Assistant Director. Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Minister of BOI. Wakako Sakurai, Representative and President of Plus W. Takashi Horiuchi, Executive Vice President of Plus W. Yuji Tsuchiya, Plus W Overseas Division, Senior Manager over Offshore Development.

2022 is the 70th anniversary year of Japan and Pakistan’s establishment of diplomatic relations. To commemorate it, dignitaries of Japanese/Pakistani governments and businesses attended an economic forum on September 29 in Islamabad, which we, Plus W, joined. Also, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Pakistan Board of Investment (BOI), seeking further development of trade and investment relationship between the two countries, hosted “Japan-Pakistan Trade & Investment Seminar,” where our president, Sakurai, talked about investing in human resources.

The purpose of this seminar was to share some examples of Japanese businesses in Pakistan and the Pakistani trade and investment circumstances. We explained some examples of initiatives we are extending in Pakistan. We, Plus W, signed on MOA this March with the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), the university recognized as the top in Pakistan, and established the Japan-Pakistan Human Resources Exchange Centre (Japan Centre) on the campus in the following May. Japan has a daunting challenge of labor shortage in IT. Seeking to resolve this challenge by utilizing Pakistani talents and letting these talents flourish in the Japanese business scenes, we endeavored in various projects since the establishment.

For example, to raise work-ready personnel, we hosted endowed seminars for the college students*1 in a series to provide specialized knowledge and skills required in corporations. The first “AI Development” was attended by 100 students in total. The following “AI Applications” started on September 27 and the first class alone was attended by 120 students. Many NUST students are seeking employment and work in Japan and deepening their learning. This course is taught by Dr. Ayaz who has obtained a PhD at Tohoku University and currently teaches at NUST. We estimate more enrollment in the future.

Also, to promote an environment for Pakistani talents to be able to work in more Japanese businesses, we have decided to collaborate with Shikoku University and offer a Japanese language program at the Japan Centre. These are just the beginning. We will create more opportunities for collaboration, not only with Shikoku University, but also with a host of universities in Japan to resolve problems in Japanese corporations who are short of IT workers.

Press release on the signing of MOA with NUST

Press release on the opening of Japan Centre on the NUST campus

Dr. Yasar Ayaz

President of Pakistan National Centre of Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) and teaches AI and robotics technology at Pakistan National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST). He studied at Tohoku University from 2005 to 2009 and obtained PhD and is also a specially appointed professor at Tohoku University. Dr. Ayaz’s researches on AI and robotics are highly acclaimed and he was selected as one of the top 20 scientists by the Pakistan National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) in March 2017. He received the Pakistan Presidential Award in August 2021. Dr. Ayaz endorses our Japan Centre initiative and joins us as the lecturer of AI Application course.

*1 Plus W’s endowed seminars were selected for the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS) by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Apart from such mid-to-long-term initiative for students, Plus W is also collaborating with OEC, the Overseas Employment Corporation. It is an organization under the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development (MOPHRD) which promotes Pakistani workers’ oversea employment and immigration. MOPHRD has helped over 142,000 workers land oversea jobs. Plus W already has over 2,000 work-ready IT engineers from Pakistan registered, and their hiring in Japanese businesses are gradually increasing.

Plus W’s these efforts were mentioned during the Trade & Investment Seminar by Chaudhry Salik Hussain, minister of BOI, “I’m happy to share that first ever Pakistan Japan Centre has recently been inaugurated in Pakistan at National University of Science & Technology to establish through the collaborative efforts of NUST and Plus W. The Centre will primarily focus on promoting things between Pakistan and Japan for such a cooperation field of human resource development and joint research especially in the IT sector. It also facilitates skilled human resource export from Pakistan for setting up business initiative country by familiarizing individuals with respective cultures, business principles, and basics of language.”

The Japanese government announced that they will develop a plan for expanding the employment of oversea talents within this year to respond to the era of competition for human resources. They also mentioned that innovation is a high priority including the creation of a new global standard system. Toward next spring, the laws for accepting oversea workers into Japan is likely to be enhanced. Plus W will be focusing on training excellent workers and matching them with businesses, accelerating our initiatives in Pakistan first.

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