20,000 Civil Servants to Receive ICT Training as GoK, Huawei Strike Deal

Over 20,000 government officers in ministries and parastatals are set to receive ICT skills training following the inking of a deal between the government and Huawei on Friday, March 25.

As part of the agreement, Huawei Kenya Engineering Training Academy has become an authorized training center for ICT skills. The program is expected to drive improved access to digitized government services for Kenyans.

“As a Ministry we appreciate the commitment and support provided by Huawei not only in contributing to developing Kenya’s ICT infrastructure but also in elevating ICT skills across various levels,” ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru stated at a ceremony to unveil the partnership.

“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,” the CS added.

Mucheru noted that more skilled people in digital would accelerate Kenya’s goal to have ICT contribute 9.4% of GDP by 2025.

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Huawei Kenya Chief Executive Officer Will Meng announced that the firm would foot the full cost of the training exercises. He highlighted the need for collaboration across the public and private sectors.

“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,” Meng stated.

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.  The training was categorized into two cohorts covering technical and non-technical training.

The technical training comprised knowledge on the latest cutting-edge technologies including Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data, Networks Security, Digital Economy, E-Government and Smart Cities among other ICT trends. The non-technical training focused on ICT transformation, cybersecurity and information security.

“As we embark on this new collaboration between The Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs and Huawei on ICT Talent Development we will address the existing gaps within the industry and academia and instill new skills among the existing public sector workforce.” stated Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng’.

The collaboration agreement will see the two organizations partner over the next three years to scale up ICT capabilities countrywide as government services increasingly go online and more Kenyans embrace digital connectivity.

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