Huawei Technologies, Kenya’s ICT Authority and the Ministry of Information & Technology have partnered to launch the Presidential Digital Talent Programme (PDTP) in a move to address the ICT talent shortage and bring ICT to the core of government’s service delivery.
Huawei said it contributed Ksh 20M worth of human capital, training and certification towards the programme. Huawei will also provide mentors and training on various sectors of the ICT development such as networking/ infrastructure certification, ICT security among others.
This is not Huawei’s first partnership for capacity building. In June 2014 Huawei signed an MOU with ICTA to serve as a local ICT advisor for ICTA by being part of the monitoring committee of the ICT master plan. Under this MOU, “Huawei seeds for the future” flagship project aims to provide internship, training and mentorship opportunities to university students while incorporating tours for top interns to China for further training. Huawei successfully flagged off the first 9 interns for 2 weeks training on culture and language in Beijing and ICT training at the Huawei headquarters in December 2014.
Huawei CEO Mr. Dean Yu said that Huawei is committed to developing ICT talent in Africa and beyond by collaborating with local governments, higher learning institutions and other organizations for students put into practice the knowledge gained in class.
The PDTP is set to train approximately 200 interns in a period of 1 year to bridge the digital divide and bring transformation to the ICT sector. The interns selected will undergo a three month meticulous internship programme that will leave them well acquainted with the working environment and better still competitive for the job market. This will also see them bring change in service delivery in the government sector.
During the launch the cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Information Communication and technology Dr. Fred Matiangi stated that his ministry was firming with Huawei a new framework of high end skills to provide ICT services to ministries and ICT projects in government.