Communications Ministry trains 22,000 people in ICT

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said that more than 22,000 people in the country have been trained in information communications technology (ICT) under the ministry’s Digital Transformation Centre (DTC) project.

The DTC project which was launched in January 2020, in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Cisco, seeks to train 17,200 people in basic and intermediate digital skills over a three-year period.

Although the project is in its final year of completion, it has already exceeded its target. “Even though the target was increased to over 19,000 people, I have just been informed this morning that with prudent management of the funding that we have received, more than 22,000 people have actually been trained.

“I am hopeful that by the time this programme closes in September, more people would have been trained and exposed to the wonders of digital technology,” she said.
More than 3,000 of the beneficiaries are from the Ashanti Region.

Event

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, who was speaking at a closure event of the DTC project in Kumasi on Monday, said artisans, school teachers, students and persons with disability had all gained essential digital skills required for success in today’s unfolding digital world.

Present at the event were the ministry’s international partners, some staff and Board Members  of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC), and selected coding clubs (CIC) from Tema, Daboase, Kumasi and Accra, who mounted stands to demonstrate some of their innovations.

Some of the trainers of the CIC were honoured for the instrumental role they continue to play in impacting ICT literacy in students in their various schools.

Female participation

“I am also very excited that we have exceeded our 30 per cent female participation mark and hit close to 70 per cent. “I am glad that more women found the safe space to come and acquire digital skills and actually enjoyed the experience and are using it”, the minister said.

The participants

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful further said that last year, the project partners extended the programme to visually impaired persons, adding that it lent credence to its desire not to leave anyone behind in the country’s digital transformation and socio-economic advancement.

Testimonies

Some of the beneficiaries took turns to share their success stories. Alfred Kwaku Okyere Darko, a fashion designer, said: “Now, I can sell my wares to people all over the world through technology”.

He proposed that the project be incorporated in the basic school curriculum.  For her part, Ama Adoma, a trader, said she was now able to advertise and sell her wares through technology to people she had never met in person.

“In fact, business is good. Now, I use my social media handles to advertise my products and through that I have gotten more customers,” she added.