Plus W株式会社

Plus W Inc. (Shibuya, Tokyo, CEO: Wakako Sakurai) was selected last year for the JICS subsidized project by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and provided IT and Japanese language education programs in Pakistan with the aim of producing highly skilled IT professionals active in Japan. In collaboration with one of the program partners, NPO CIRCLE, 28 students graduated at the end of June. Among them, we are pleased to announce that after working as interns at our company, three members started engaging in IT projects for Japanese companies as our IT experts starting from July 2024.

By providing IT and Japanese language education, we are fostering highly skilled IT professionals in Pakistan.

By providing IT and Japanese language education, we are fostering highly skilled IT professionals in Pakistan. Due to being selected for the JICS subsidized project by METI in 2023, we provided IT and Japanese language education programs locally in Pakistan from October to December last year. The background to this is the increasing necessity for digital transformation (DX) across various business sectors, coupled with a growing shortage of IT personnel, making the utilization of foreign talent indispensable. Since our establishment, we have been interacting with Pakistan, where IT education is popular, and have undertaken various initiatives to address this challenge. Utilizing this experience, we promoted the "Demonstration Project for the Development of Highly Skilled IT Professionals in Pakistan with a Focus on IT, Japanese Language, and Japanese Culture and Facilitating their Matching with Japanese Companies (Islamic Republic of Pakistan) (Subsidized project).

This time, while advancing the program at multiple top universities, we particularly strengthened our collaboration with the organization CIRCLE (https://circlewomen.co/). CIRCLE is an NPO aiming to improve the social status of women in Pakistan through IT technology, supported by global companies and organizations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For science students enrolled in CIRCLE, we established a cooperative framework to provide employment opportunities, focusing on students aspiring to excel in the IT field, and launched courses accordingly.

Press release regarding last year’s subsidized project

Overview of the Subsidized Project

Project Name: Demonstration Project for the Development of Highly Skilled IT Professionals in Pakistan with a Focus on IT, Japanese Language, and Japanese Culture and Facilitating their Matching with Japanese Companies (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)
Implementation Period: July 2023 – January 2024
Implementation Method: Conducted on-site in Pakistan, and online
Implementation Content: Focused on expanding employment opportunities for backend engineers by lecturing on features and technical topics in Japanese IT development, as well as implementing a Japanese language program specialized in the IT scene.

Speech by Sadaffe Abid (CIRCLE Founder & CEO)

Scenes from the venue

commemorative photo with related parties

The designated program was completed, and a graduation ceremony was held on June 26th of this year in Pakistan. From our company, Umair, the director of the Japan-Pakistan Human Resource Exchange Centre, attended the ceremony, along with other executive members who participated remotely. Additionally, esteemed guests included Sadaffe, the Founder and CEO of CIRCLE, and Mr. Yamaguchi, the Country Director of the JETRO Karachi office, making it a grand event. While participating in this program alongside their university classes, the participants engaged in practical IT learning and tackled the challenging task of learning Japanese, which is considered difficult for Pakistanis. Out of 82 participants, 28 graduated. Although the pass rate is not yet very high, the number of applicants and graduates clearly showed a strong interest and desire to work in Japan. Based on the results of this subsidized project, we plan to continue our collaboration with CIRCLE in the coming years and aim to produce more active talents for Japanese companies.

Commemorative photo at the graduation ceremony

Scenes from the panel discussion by representative participants

Commemorative photo by the students

On the other hand, the following three students participated in the program while still attending university and also worked as interns in our company. After graduating from university at the end of June 2023, they started working remotely from Pakistan as development staff at our company from July, embarking on their new careers. In the future, they are expected to participate in development projects for major Japanese companies, applying the skills they acquired in the course in practical settings. We also aim to strengthen support for career development after graduation and plan to assign graduates to further development projects.

Program participants engaged in our IT development projects from July.

Taimoor Khan

Ilhaam Soomro

Muhammad Yousuf

Comments from Graduates, Taimoor from IoBM University

“The training course and internship played a very important role in shaping my career as a full-stack engineer. I was able to gain deep knowledge of key technologies such as Python, React, AWS, and Git/GitHub, significantly improving my own skills and bringing me one step closer to my career goal of working in Japan.”

Message from Guests at the Graduation Ceremony

CIRCLE Founder & CEO
Sadaffe Abid

“I feel that this initiative with Plus W is truly wonderful, especially in promoting further participation of women in society. In addition to acquiring knowledge, career development also requires mentors and networks for consultation, and Plus W has provided those as well. I am truly grateful that three students have been given the opportunity to work on Japanese IT development projects. I hope these three students will carry the banner of Pakistan proudly and work hard. I believe that this initiative will lead to career development for all the students who participated.”

JETRO Karachi Office
Country Director
Kazunori Yamaguchi

“In Japan, where the population is aging and birth rates are declining, the shrinking labor force is becoming a serious issue. Particularly, the shortage of highly skilled IT professionals is pronounced, and opportunities for overseas talent to work on-site or remotely are expanding. This trend presents a great opportunity for female IT engineers in Pakistan. To enhance their IT skills and open up global career paths, I hope they will consider working in Japan as one of their career options. Being able to speak English, and even a little Japanese, will be a significant advantage when working in Japan. Therefore, I hope they will use this experience to broaden their future career possibilities.

Japan-Pakistan Human Resource Exchange Center (PJC) Head:
Hafiz Muhammad Umair Munir
Head of PJC, Global Business Division, Plus W Inc

“Myself have a connection to Japan, having worked and lived there for about five years as an IT engineer for a Japanese company. I am very pleased that three interns and employees have emerged from this program. They have shown high levels of ambition and eagerness to learn, and they were very active participants in the program. Particularly in terms of IT skills, they are at a level where they are highly valued as immediate assets in the field, and I find them very promising. They also have a strong interest in Japan, and I hope that talents like them will continue to expand their employment opportunities in Japan in the future.

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