Centres to help raise generation of digitally savvy leaders

The digital revolution has transformed labour skills market demands, compounding Africa’s pre-existing skills mismatch. Given the changing dynamics, acquiring skills in information and communications technology (ICT) has become critical for graduates.

The African Development Bank’s Coding for Employment programme, which falls under the Jobs for Youth in Africa initiative, recently launched three innovation centres of excellence for ICT at three partner universities in Africa during a virtual workshop. The ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the launch were held in person at Covenant University in Ota, Nigeria, and the University of Nairobi in Kenya in March 2022.

The Coding for Employment programme is poised to create more than nine million job opportunities for graduates over the next 10 years by providing in-demand technical skills applicable in agriculture, healthcare and entrepreneurship.

The new training centres are based at Covenant University in Ota in Nigeria and Gombe State University, also in Nigeria. The third centre is housed at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

The centres of excellence, which are equipped with 50 computers each, learning stations and networking areas, represent a critical milestone for the Coding for Employment programme, as it seeks to create a pipeline for African youth, particularly girls and women, equipped with digital skills acquired through various technological courses.

The programme was set up to provide demand-driven basic, intermediate and advanced digital skills training and to link graduates to opportunities for decent employment across the continent.

More than 149,000 graduates have been trained in courses such as data science and analytics, web design and digital marketing through the centres in Senegal, Rwanda and Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Kenya, using a hybrid model of e-learning and in-person training even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these beneficiaries, 47% were women.

Through the bank and supporting partners, more than 1,700 graduates have been linked to employment opportunities such as internships, remote-working and full-time jobs.

Coding for Employment aims to set up 130 centres across Africa by 2025.

Gender equality a priority

The role of women in Africa’s digital economy has been limited, due to gender disparities in STEM fields fuelled by socio-cultural norms and bias, restricting science, technology, and innovation (STI) as a male-dominated area.

Creating a pool of talented women in STI is central to addressing these gaps, but this must also extend to providing opportunities to women for employment and career advancement through coaching, mentorship and exposing young girls to STEM fields at an early stage.

Universities have been supporting women in science and technology through scholarships, experiential learning and mentorship opportunities for undergraduate students, with senior scholars encouraging them to stay and strive within technological fields.

During her opening remarks, Dr Martha Phiri, the director for human capital, youth and skills development at The African Development Bank, highlighted that, in Africa, women represent less than 40% of the workforce in the digital sector and the proportion of women using the internet is 25% lower than men.

“Our bank’s objectives under the Coding for Employment programme focus on creating equal opportunities for women and men in the area of digital skills. The launch reflects the bank’s commitment to creating a world where gender equality is true in the classroom, in the boardroom, and in every sector of the economy to build a more inclusive, innovative and resilient African society,” she said.

“We believe we would have fostered a greater adoption with more technology being developed by women because evidence shows that women inventors come up with more women-friendly innovations. So, the more women scientists and technologists we develop through the centres of excellence, the more developed solutions will come from women,” and more women will adopt technology.

Youth in rural areas trained in technology

The realisation that many underserved rural youths have lacked access to ICT infrastructure and training, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted the development of the Digital Ambassadors Programme, which is an extension of the Coding for Employment initiative.

Through its key partner universities, the programme aims to train young Africans to lead an intensive peer-to-peer model meant to expand and scale digital skills to youths in rural communities with limited internet access and training opportunities.

Through access to learning tools, ICT training, mentorship and career development opportunities, the Digital Ambassadors Programme aims to create a benchmark for ensuring equal access to technical skills in disadvantaged communities across Africa.

“The centres of excellence we are launching will be crucial in the delivery of the training programme for our digital ambassadors as well as the reference of other digital entrepreneurship events organised by the bank,” Phiri said.

She also stressed the importance of leveraging strategic domestic and international partnerships to ensure the sustainability of training programmes aimed at strengthening STI fields.

Key partners, including Microsoft, have been instrumental in achieving a greater impact in the Coding for Employment programme by providing support to trainees and instructors, developing e-learning support and providing insights on the relevant skills needed on the continent.

Policy interventions needed

During the workshop, African policymakers were challenged to invest in curriculum reforms, infrastructure development to create access to affordable ICT as well as home-grown policies to address and measure gender equality frameworks.

According to the Africa Policy Research Institute, Africa’s digital economy is projected to contribute US$180 billion to economies by 2025. However, to achieve this giant leap, policy interventions must be aligned with higher education needs.

One of the important policies is ensuring that universities’ curricula shift from knowledge-based to competency-based with emphasis on producing graduates with the skills and capacity to transform African economies.

Professor Abiodun Adebayo, the vice-chancellor of Covenant University, stressed the importance of raising a new generation of leaders by producing graduates with globally relevant digital skills.

“As an ICT-driven university, the acquisition of digital skills and knowledge is embedded in our curriculum to promote integrated and life-applicable education relevant to the context of science, technology and human capital building,” Adebayo said.

“We aim to mobilise African youths to actively participate and contribute to the emerging digital economy and to become tomorrow’s innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. African youths are projected to reach 832 million by 2030, hence it is imperative to empower them with relevant digital skills such as cloud computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence so that they can thrive in an increasingly digital global economy.”