Kenya, Huawei Sign Deal For ICT Training Academy

 

PS ICT & Innovation Jerome Ochieng presents plaque to Huawei Kenya Deputy CEO Fiona Pan on behalf of the Government of Kenya to commemorate Huawei Kenya Engineering Training Academy as an Authorised ICT Training Center. PHOTO| COURTESY

By Benjamin Muriuki For Citizen Digital

Government workers in ICT departments are set to benefit from a programme aimed at boosting their technological skill capacity following the authorization of Huawei Kenya Engineering Training Academy.

In the agreement unveiled on Friday by ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru and Huawei Kenya Chief Executive Officer Will Meng, 20,000 officers, professionals and students will be taken through a comprehensive training program in line with the progressive digitization and digitalization of government services.

“This new program, the largest of its kind in our history, is akin to the software development part of ICT capacity building and is expected to take three years.  In this period, we will advance the skill sets of government officers who have attained different levels of certification,” said CS  Mucheru.

CS Mucheru pointed out that the final training certification will be recognized by the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programs in a formal skills database. 

He explained the deal followed the government’s commitment to increase the number of services that Kenyans can access online in a bid to ease public services and information provision. 

Mucheru noted that it is grounded on findings from the ICT Authority’s ‘Talent Cultivation for Kenya’s Digital Economy’ White Paper released in November 2021 which reported that 55% of jobs in Kenya by 2030 will require digital skills and that the country’s digital economy is expected to generate 9.24% of the total GDP by 2025. One of its key recommendations was to scale-up public-private sector initiatives and certification programs to meet the expected demand.

“Combining the capabilities of the private sector with those of the public sector has proven to be a successful approach to helping unlock the country’s potential and boost growth. We believe that providing training to public officers in the use of technology is essential in enforcing many small improvements that have substantial impacts therefore unlocking the potential of the government”, said Huawei Kenya Chief Executive Officer Will Meng.

 At the time of the announcement, 900 civil servants from across various government agencies also graduated from a pilot of the capacity building program.  12 of them were awarded for their outstanding performance.