Huawei’s Technologies Kenya Limited partnership with the Kenyan government in developing ICT infrastructure and elevating ICT skills in the country has seen over 1,500 civil servants benefit from advanced training on ICT technologies.
The success of this partnership that targets to train at least 19, 700 people, among them civil servants, undergraduates and youths on talent development saw the signing of the letter of intent (LOI) partnership between the Huawei Technologies Kenya Limited and the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs on Friday, March 25, 2022.
The partnership that will run for three years at Huawei Kenya Engineering Training Academy authorised by the ICT Training Center, Kenya is targeting to train 200 high-level advanced ICT experts and 5,000 ICT technical experienced professionals, 2,500 civil servants and 12,000 graduates, students and youth countrywide.
The letter of intent was signed by ICT and Innovation Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng and the Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Public Affairs Huawei Technologies Kenya Company Limited Ms Fiona Pan at a Nairobi hotel during the graduation ceremony of Civil Servants Training by Huawei Technologies Limited where 375 civil servants drawn from public service and state corporation graduated with technical and non-technical awards.
Speaking at the event, Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said the training is important as it will enable public servants adapt to public service delivery to the digital era.
Mucheru said the skills that civil servants acquire from the training will complement their efforts to work across sectors and enhance public service delivery.
He said continuous training at all levels is critical as it is only through it that the country can produce a workforce that is capable in fitting into the knowledge driven society.
“We look forward to developing ICT experts and professionals not only within the civil service but also within academia and learning institutions,” said Mucheru.
He noted that in this era of technology, the country requires to set the right skills to enable the nation acquire and utilise information available to make informed decisions, innovate and contribute to the growth of the economy.
The CS said, “In recognition of the role of technology in achieving Vision 2030, the government pledged to strengthen technical capabilities by emphasising technological learning at all levels,” adding that it is only through an educated and skilled manpower that Kenya will be able to create, share and utilise knowledge well.
Mucheru thanked Huawei for their support and contribution in developing Kenya’s ICT infrastructure and elevating ICT skills across various levels, and training civil servants from various government agencies since 2020.
“Your partnership with universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions also guarantees that our future workforce has the ICT capacity to take up various roles essential in streamlining service delivery not only within government but also in the private sector,” he added.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer Huawei Kenya, Will Meng said Huawei has been committed for more than 20 years not only to build the ICT infrastructure in Kenya but also nurture local ICT talent.
He said through the partnerships with institutions of higher learning and government agencies they have managed to transfer knowledge through various technical and non-technical courses to civil servants.
“The virtual training sessions for civil servants were designed to provide the participants with the latest knowledge on (ICT) trends, e-government, smart city, Internet of Things and cyber security,” said Meng.
The CEO disclosed that to date Huawei covers 16 counties and 70 government agencies and public institutions across the country to enable all Kenyans participate and benefit from the digital economy.
At the same time, he stated that over the last two years, there has been tremendous growth in the use of ICT in Kenya, which has helped in digitization of services in both government and private sector.
By Bernadette Khaduli
