The OpenLabs Ghana and the AltSchool Africa, both Information Technology (I.T) training institutions, have signed an agreement to provide digital content training to Ghanaian youth and equip young people with employable skills. The partnership also seeks to empower more women to express interest in I.T. profession by providing them with flexible online digital learning tools to develop and nurture their skills. Under the Agreement, AltSchool would create digital content on data science, product management, and software engineering as well as expose students to online international jobs. Dr Sujith Jayaprakash, the Director of Openlabs Ghana, and Mr Adewale Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer, AltSchool, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective institutions at the OpenLabs Campus in Accra. Dr Jayaprakash described the agreement as ‘the beginning of the new future,’ saying the initiative would enhance the skills of its students to create digital learning solutions and impact the technology industry in Africa and the world. ‘For us, this is the move towards digital education. Students will get access to digital content that do not only educate them but would also help them to acquire a job from the international job market,’ he said. Mr Yusuf said Africa’s youthful population provided an opportunity for the continent to boost its human resource capacity and transform the continent by embracing technology. He expressed concern about the teaching methods applied in African schools, saying the current curriculum did not equip students with employable skills. ‘Our curriculum is obsolete. We have to provide the students with the required skills and make sure they learn marketable skills. The world is developing and we are not catching up enough.’ Mr Yusuf said. Madam Joana Ivy Abbiw, General Manager in Charge of Sales and Marketing, OpenLabs Ghana, encouraged women to take up professions in the IT space and improve their skills on emerging technologies. ‘Most women, because of our orientation believe that IT is not for them. But now it’s changing and daily we see that this profession has a place for women. ‘Going digital will help the women to, in her own comfort zone, also pursue a programme in I.T. without intimidation,’ she said. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, some 230 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills by 2030. That translates to a potential for 650 million training opportunities and an estimated $130 billion market.
Source: Ghana News Agency
