{"id":534871,"date":"2026-03-05T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadpakistan.com.pk\/news\/?p=534871"},"modified":"2026-03-05T06:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:00:28","slug":"hec-announces-national-skill-competency-test-for-it-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadpakistan.com.pk\/news\/hec-announces-national-skill-competency-test-for-it-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"HEC announces national skill competency test for IT graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> Islamabad<br \/>\nThe Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan has notified the commencement of the National Skill Competency Test for IT graduates, a landmark initiative designed to align academic outcomes with the rapidly evolving demands of the global technology sector.<br \/>\nDeveloped pursuant to Prime Minister\u2019s directives and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology &#038; Telecommunication (MoITT), the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), this standardized assessment aims to enhance the employability and market readiness of the nation\u2019s burgeoning IT workforce.<br \/>\nFor students currently enrolled in their 7th and 8th semesters of computing programs &#8211; including Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and related fields &#8211; the test offers a transformative opportunity.<br \/>\nParticipation is entirely free of charge and provides high-achieving students with a joint certificate from HEC, PSEB, and P@SHA, alongside inclusion in a national talent pool accessible to both local and international employers.<br \/>\nFurthermore, qualifying students will receive one academic credit from their respective institutions and gain prioritized access to internships, apprenticeships, and international certification pathways.<br \/>\nThe significance of this initiative extends deeply into the academic landscape. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been asked to ensure full student participation, as the results will form a critical component of national benchmarking.<br \/>\nUniversities will be categorized into performance tiers based on their students\u2019 success, reflecting their alignment with industry competencies. Conversely, institutions that fail to facilitate the registration process will face placement below the lowest performance category in national rankings.<br \/>\nThe test will be computer based to be conducted simultaneously across Pakistan on April 4-5, 2026. Eligible candidates may contact focal person of their respective university for timely completion of their registration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Islamabad The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan has notified the commencement of the National Skill Competency Test for IT graduates, a landmark initiative designed to align academic outcomes with the rapidly evolving demands of the global technology sector. Developed pursuant to Prime Minister\u2019s directives and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology &#038; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-534871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>HEC announces national skill competency test for IT graduates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadpakistan.com.pk\/news\/hec-announces-national-skill-competency-test-for-it-graduates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HEC announces national skill competency test for IT graduates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Islamabad The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan has notified the commencement of the National Skill Competency Test for IT graduates, a landmark initiative designed to align academic outcomes with the rapidly evolving demands of the global technology sector. 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