The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, says the government is shifting the focus of its One Million Coders Programme from training to job creation, with a target of generating 100,000 digitally enabled jobs over the next two years.
According to him, the ministry is working with industry stakeholders, including the Business Outsourcing Association of Ghana (BOSAG), to connect programme graduates with employment opportunities in Ghana and international markets.
Mr George made the remarks during a two-day monitoring visit to rural telephony sites and the One Million Coders Programme in the Ashanti Region to assess the impact of government investments in digital infrastructure and services, particularly in underserved communities.
He said the monitoring exercise was intended to obtain first-hand feedback from beneficiaries, identify implementation gaps and improve the delivery of the ministry’s programmes.
“It’s important that we come to meet the beneficiaries of the work we’ve done to then be able to identify what we’re doing right, where there are gaps, and what we need to evolve and adapt to,” he said.
The minister explained that while the government was confident of meeting its manifesto commitment to train one million Ghanaians in digital skills within four years, the next priority was to ensure that graduates could translate their skills into employment.
He said the ministry was engaging BOSAG to help address the shortage of skilled workers in the business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) sectors.
According to him, the programme is building a pool of skilled workers, including data annotators, whose services could attract outsourcing opportunities to Ghana.
“BOSAG will tell you they don’t have the skilled workforce. Now we are filling in that gap by providing them our graduates. We’re providing them the database of our graduates,” he said.
Mr George added that the ministry was working to match the skills being developed through the programme with the requirements of businesses seeking to outsource digital services.
The minister also announced plans to expand the programme’s reach beyond community information and communication technology (ICT) centres to include students in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, technical universities and universities.
He cited the expansion of the programme’s footprint at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where the number of laptops allocated had increased from 500 to 2,500.
He said the programme was also extending its focus beyond first-year students to final-year students to better prepare them for the world of work.
Mr George said the ministry would intensify public education and sensitisation to address low patronage at some community ICT centres, with traditional authorities and the media expected to play key roles.
He stressed, however, that the government would not shut down the existing community centres but would consider repurposing underused laptops for schools within the same communities.
“If those 20 laptops were sitting, for example, in an ICT centre and there are 50 laptops there, and your average turnout is 30 people, that means you have 20 laptops that are not being put to good use,” he said.
“In my view, that’s not a responsible use of government resources.”
He said the approach would ensure that the equipment continued to benefit communities while expanding access to digital learning among students.
On rural telephony, Mr George said the ministry was monitoring the rollout of new telecommunications sites being implemented in collaboration with MTN and Telecel to improve connectivity across the country.
He cited approximately 800 new sites under MTN and 1,960 under Telecel, noting that some had been completed, while others were still being worked on or commissioned.
The minister said he was personally testing call quality and internet connectivity as the monitoring team travelled through various communities, with observations being relayed to technical teams at the National Communications Authority (NCA).
He said the exercise would help the ministry assess whether the infrastructure investments were translating into improved communication services for residents.
“I’ve been on my phone; I’ve been trying to see how easy it is to make calls as we go into various communities, how easy it is to browse. And I’m taking note of that, and I’m sending reports back to the various technical teams at the NCA.”
By: Ekow Annan/newsalertgh.com
