Gov’t to ensure workforce acquire appropriate digital skills

The government through the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance has reiterated its commitment towards re-skilling and up-skilling the government workforce to acquire appropriate digital skills to support e-government service delivery.

The remarks were made as the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with International Computer Driving Licence(ICDL) Africa in an event held in Kampala on Wednesday.

 ICDL is one of the world's leading computer skills certification. 

The primary objective of this initiative is to establish digital skills standards for the workforce in Uganda, enhancing digital skills training delivery across the different structures in the country’s education system.

The initiative will also help to support the realization of the digital Uganda vision.

Speaking shortly after the function, the Minister of State for Information, Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo told the Nile Post that this partnership which will be implemented in five years through a collaborative effort will greatly help Ugandans to improve on their skills.

She said the initiative will supplement the existing digital skilling programmes, adding that the government has been in the forefront of championing this initiative to improve the standards for the workforce in the country.

“This partnership will help to open the eyes of Ugandans to understand that they can use their gadgets to create good content which at the end will help to increase employment opportunities for the young people. I want to assure you that we will provide all the necessary support required to ensure that this partnership is a success,” she noted.

Dr. Aminah Zawedde, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, revealed that Uganda is still below 50% in terms of digital skills, saying that a lot needs to be done to improve the productivity of the workforce in the country.

She told the Nile Post that most of the graduates who get out of universities lack basic digital skills which at the end affect their productivity at work, something which is a very big challenge but expressing hope that the partnership will address all these challenges.  

She said the partnership will help in designing programs that will address the digital skills gaps for citizens as well as government employees. 

“Partnering with ICDL Africa is a demonstration of our commitment to digitizing Uganda. Digital skills continue to be a bottleneck in the digital transformation agenda,” she said, adding that this is a significant milestone for the Ministry in its quest to ensure that government employees and the citizens have the requisite skills to support and use the e-government initiatives.

The general manager of ICDL Africa Solange Umulisa expressed commitment to supporting the government of Uganda in this initiative, adding that digital skills have become one of the essentials in the 21st century.

“We commit our total support to this partnership to ensure that we walk this journey together to ensure digital transformation for Uganda. We look forward to celebrating the successes of this MoU,” she said.