State Department for ICT and Innovation Principal Secretary (PS) Jerome Ochieng, has urged organisations to invest in their human capital through digital skills development, knowledge transfer and capacity building.
He said the Government has focused on digital economy, as it is a key contributor to the socio-economic development of the Country, noting that the key strategies deployed by the government will enable the Country become a middle-income knowledge economy by the year 2030.
The PS who was speaking at the official opening of the Huawei Training Centre at the Africa Advanced Level Telecommunication Institute (AFRALTI) in Nairobi, said the government will continue to develop requisite policies and legal frameworks, infrastructure and the necessary institutional reforms that will promote the growth of digital economy.
He said through digital technology a large number of Kenyans will look to the digital economy for their socio-economic well-being, financial services, education and entertainment among others but added that success to the technological solutions requires concerted efforts in bridging the skills gap.
“The skills gaps across all industries are poised to grow with acceleration of the global digital economy towards the fourth industrial revolution,” said the PS, noting that rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies are altering the very nature of jobs and consequently the skills needed to get the jobs done.
Ochieng said the draft Digital Economy Strategy 2021 calls for all Kenyans to meet the competencies and expertise required for the digital economy.
“The aim of the strategy is to build capacity in anticipation of the changing needs in the technology environment and to increase the number of citizens trained in the digital skills spectrum,” said the PS.
He said the strategy also emphasises on the need to retrain the workforce to enable them advance their digital skills and bridge the digital talent gap, adding that such skills were vital in entrepreneurship and in particular in the implementation of digitization projects in both private and public sectors.
Ochieng commended Huawei for investing in the facility which will be used to enhance digital skills and their commitment to build and equip the training facility, as well as upskilling and reskilling the local workforce.
He said the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, has collaborated with Huawei on the training and skills transfer over a decade through the ‘Seed for the Future and Presidential Digital Talent Program’ to facilitate internships and training of university students.
“I am encouraging Huawei to allow access to this training facility to as many Kenyans as possible to accelerate the skill development agenda of the country,” he added.
State Department for University Education and Research Principal Secretary Amb. Simon Nabukwesi, lauded Huawei for setting up the training centre in a more spacious and more equipped premise, a move he noted it illustrates the organisation’s commitment to strengthen Kenya’s ICT, digital literacy and talent ecosystem.
“I wish to recognise the efforts by the Ministry of ICT under the Stewardship of CS Joe Mucheru and PS Jerome Ochieng, for working in partnership with the Ministry of Education in ensuring that all our youth, get the much-needed ICT skills, integrated in all levels of formal and informal education and in this we count on Huawei for support,” noted Amb. Nabukwesi
Nabukwesi acknowledged the 2021/2022 ICT competition, whose registration has just commenced to provide innovation opening for the youth who will have access to the latest ICT programmes and to virtual laboratories for practice.
He registered great anticipation in celebrating the victory of the teams that will represent Kenya at all levels, especially the global final, noting that, the competition presents a great opportunity for university students to compete with the best of their counterparts from across the globe.
“As a Ministry, we continue to encourage and support our universities and other institutions of higher learning to embrace remote teaching and online programmes in order to produce all rounded products from our institutions,” he added.
The launched Huawei Training Center will go a long way in providing skills to local instructors and telecommunication operators, government ICT officers, network contractors’ industry partners and university students.
By Bernadette Khaduli and Mical Imbukwa
