Digital Transformation Agenda: Gov’t bridging gap between acquiring skills and job acquisition – Ursula

Communications and Digitalisation Minister, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has said the government is bridging the gap between acquiring ICT skills in school and job acquisition.

According to her, there is a practical and crucial linkage between quality ICT education and job creation.

“There is a direct linkage between digital infrastructure, applications, systems and skills to create jobs and wean ourselves off reliance on external consultants to manage our digital infrastructure. That will enable us grow our economy, promote transparency and fight corruption, and increase efficiency and productivity” she made it known at the Huawei ICT Job fair organized to provide students with an opportunity to prepare for their future careers in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).

She added, “The Digital Transformation Agenda of government aims at harnessing the power of technology to transform the economy and ensure that everyone enjoys the benefits associated with digitalisation”.

Digitalisation Venue

She further explained that, Ghana’s digitalization agenda which was started at the early period of the Akufo-Addo administration has paid off, seeing to the successful implementation of many ICT innovation centres all over the country.

She said, these centres have contributed to shaping the country’s agenda towards digitalization, and more importantly, teaching and nurturing neighbouring countries on ways to also enjoy from this digitalisation process.

“Ghana continues to be the preferred destination for many businesses especially in the technology space and our digital innovations are being studied for adoption across the region with many countries coming here on study tours to learn from our experiences. This is all due to the government’s commitment to the sector and I will do my best to ensure a sustainable industry growth and we will continue to engage with key industry players to develop and implement policies that will grow the industry.

“The government of H.E. Nana Akufo Addo will go down in history as the most digitally conscious government of all time in our country. All the steps taken so far have been carefully designed to create the sustainable foundation of our digital economy.”

Stay Focused

She further urged the students participating in the Huawei ICT Job Fair to stay focus and have a mindset of possibilities adding that, government is ready to explore more ways to help them develop their talents and capabilities to meet their growth aspirations.

The lawyer, and women’s rights activist emphasized, “Stay focused and put your eye on the prize, which is success. Complain less and be the solution and don’t focus too much on money and conditions of service as you develop your careers. Go above and beyond the call of duty and be diligent, honest and trustworthy employees. The money will follow as excellent performance reviews testify to your competence. Having skills and book knowledge alone is not enough to excel.

“Your character and work ethic is also important. It will open the door for you but you must apply yourselves and work hard to justify the trust that your employers repose in you by hiring you in the first place. Over 2000 people applied but only 300 were selected and 200 of you will leave here with firm offers. Show your real value and know that the future and sustainability of Ghana’s digitalisation rests on your shoulders. Thankfully, this is the first ICT job fair and there will be many others. This is an opportunity that you should take full advantage of. Especially to the ladies here who have taken that bold step to be among the select few helping Ghana bridge the ICT gender gap. Know that this is your time, use this opportunity to interact and engage with the industry big wigs here today.”

Vision

Shedding more light on the aggressive digitalisation agenda being pursued by government, the Ablekuma West lawmaker said the provision of ICT infrastructure and capacity development programmes is expected to provide digital training and upskilling of the youth to equip them for the future is key.

“This government has a vision of nurturing young entrepreneurs while also creating an enabling environment for a thriving ICT sector to enable organisations take in more graduates with the requisite skills. This is why we are here today and I must commend Huawei and all your partners for organising the ICT Job Fair.”

She added, “Employment creation and entrepreneurship remains an integral part of our digital transformation agenda and we have rolled out several programs and initiatives to support and resource ICT organisations to expand rapidly. I am happy to note that we have setup Ghana Digital Transformation Centres across the country to provide practical ICT skills, create and promote employment and provide entrepreneurship opportunities particularly in our rural areas. This is being done in 40 Community ICT Centres established by the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) to develop and provide a broad range of services, specifically to rural communities.

“It is important to note that employment creation and entrepreneurship in ICTs remain key economic drivers and the government is ready to partner with global ICT organisations like Huawei and local private sector organisations to encourage and engage local expertise as we have been doing.”

Present at the occasion were Minister for Education, Hon. John Ntim Fodjour, Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Bright Wereko Brobbey, the Southern Africa Regional President of Huawei – Mr. Chen, the Managing Director of Huawei Ghana, Mr. Tommy Zhou and many more.