The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Authority is a State Corporation under the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology. The corporation was established in August 2013.
DigiSchool
The Digital Literacy Programme (DLP) is targeted at learners in all public primary schools and is aimed at integrating the use of digital technologies in learning. The decision is borne out of the vision and context that technology now defines our world and there is need to prepare our young people for today’s realities.
The programme is executed through a multi stakeholder approach led by the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT).
Talent and Workforce Building
The ICT Authority in collaboration with other ICT stakeholders has developed programmes to manage the challenge of the gap between industry talent needs and the available human capital produced from the educational institutions. These programmes are:
Commencement: 2014
The Centre of Excellence (COE) is based at the University of Nairobi, and aims to train 5,000 students every year to be adequately prepared for employment in the Business Process Outsourcing/Information Technology Enabled Services (BPO/ITES) industry. The COE is a partnership involving leading Kenyan (BPO/ITES) Services companies and their global counterparts, together with the Kenyan academic community. This makes the COE curriculum beneficial to ICT developers and entrepreneurs who wish to increase their competencies in best-in-class practices in the industry.
Chipuka is a certification programme for software developers targeting entry-level developers in colleges to build their capacity in software development. Through Chipuka developers write and execute high quality code through an authentic examination, in a supervised setting that tests the skills used professionally by IT companies. The certification was developed and rolled out by the Carnegie Mellon University, a global research university known for its software development capabilities. This makes this certification quite valuable and internationally recognised. The project aims to train 500 hundred developers each year
Through a capacity building partnership, Huawei is supporting a programme aimed at providing practical on-the-job skills to 100 top engineering students from all universities countrywide, with the requisite ICT skills. The Internship Programme involves placement of top engineering students in their 3rd, 4thand 5th year of study in public and private universities, at Huawei for practical on-the-job skills. The students also benefit from a training tour in China. Participants of the programme enjoy a hands-on experience of working for one of the top telecommunications equipment manufacturer globally. The Huawei Telecom Seeds for the Future Programme aims to fulfil the important objectives of the National ICT Masterplan 2017, specifically on human capital and workforce development, and ICT as a driver for industry.
Through this programme, Microsoft will offer support in providing a platform that will enable ICT Skills training for up to 300,000 teachers. Proposed areas of training will include proficiency in Microsoft Technologies, Microsoft Teach with Technology courseware and accreditation as Microsoft Certified Educators. This is in line with the government’s recognition that to be a leader in ICT, the country must enhance the skills of the workforce for both entrepreneurship and employability so as to create jobs and promote inclusive economic growth.
Commencement: April 2015
This programme aims to raise the level of technical understanding and IT skills required in executing e-Government services, and support the transition of Kenya into the digital age. The programme includes internship and mentoring opportunities for the youth, corporate leadership activities that benefit the community, and enhancing ICT skills development programmes and initiatives.
Commencement: January 2015
The Presidential Digital Talent Programme (PDTP) is a Public Private Partnership Internship Programme. PDTP targets fresh and qualified ICT graduates and provides a training ground to equip them to be industry leaders and experts in ICT. The programme is designed build and entrench ICT capacity within the Kenyan Government to ensure ICT effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery.
Fresh graduates interested to participate in the programme
To read More about the programme, visit PDTPSAP partnered with the ICT Authority to offer a scholarship programme that develops a rich pool of employable graduates who are empowered to find jobs, providing much needed local skills to the ICT industry. The programme seeks to bridge the skills gap between demand for skills by the industry and demand for meaningful jobs from in the country. The programme involves training of the best Kenyan university graduates per year. Students who pass the certification exam are then placed into internships that will kick-start their career as SAP consultants. The 2013 class had 56 students receive Professional SAP Certification, with 63 students receiving certification in 2014.
The Dual Study Programme is a new programme under the SAP Skills for Africa umbrella, which is a collaboration between SAP and Universities to provide students the opportunity to train and certify as SAP consultants. SAP launched the programme in 2015 to build on the momentum of the SAP Skills for Africa Scholarship Programme. It is in pilot in partnership with Strathmore University for 30 students.
For more information on how to apply write to: skills@ict.go.ke or SAPSkillsForAfricaKenya@sap.com
Information Security
As many of the public services become digitised and available online, the government has increased its efforts to protect information online. This is being done through adoption of such initiatives as use of licensed software and application of measures to assess, control and manage security risks at all levels of government.
In this way, citizens can rest assured that their transactions with government have minimal risk, and that the services they require will consistently be available with minimal security interruptions.
NATIONAL PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT NATIONAL ICT POLICY DATA PROTECTION BILL 2012
Open Data
The Kenya Open Data Initiative is a portal that makes public Government research accessible for free to the public in easy reusable formats. The portal provides core government developmental, demographic, statistical, and expenditure data available in a useful digital format for researchers, policymakers, ICT developers and the general public.
DigiTalent
ICT businesses now have a ready pool of industry-ready ICT graduates. The Presidential Digital Talent Programme (PDTP) takes fresh and qualified ICT graduates through an internship programme designed to build their ICT capabilities, ready for the ICT market.
The interns are placed both in Government Ministries (10 months) and in the private sector (2 months) during the programme giving them a holistic understanding of how ICT works both in the public and private sectors. This exposure helps the interns to acquire and apply ICT skills for effective service delivery, and efficient implementation of projects. Apart from the technical aspects of the internship, the interns are also mentored on leadership skills and innovative thinking. After the programme, the interns emerge as talented and well rounded individuals with a clear career progression path in the ICT sector, and make valuable additions to any company.
Businesses can reap big from this pool of talented individuals who are well prepared for the needs of the ICT sector. In addition, businesses can participate in the PDTP as partners by offering internship positions to the graduates.