New academy to boost digital skills and youth employment

A new ‘digital academy’ based in Togo’s capital, Lomé, is recruiting its first students, offering free, intensive education in digitisation to Togolese aged between 17 and 30.

The Académie Digitale Numérique du Golfe 1, or ADN, is aimed at young people, including those entering active life, dropouts trying to reconnect to education and employees wanting to increase their skills or retrain, reported Le Télégramme 228. It will also provide guidance to businesses which are digitising their activities, and invest in marginalised areas.

Following decentralisation of Lomé’s administration, the ADN has been established at the initiative of the town hall of the Golfe 1 Bè-Apédomé commune under mayor Koamy Gbloèkpo Gomado, in partnership with the French digital network Simplon.co.

ADN says its objectives are to offer free, intensive and innovative courses in digital technology to enable job seekers who are under-represented in the sector to secure employment; to guide businesses in moving to digitisation and train their employees in the necessary skills; equip those working in social and economic fields with digital solutions to increase their social impact; give priority to and invest in disadvantaged areas and people who miss out on education and employment.

It says its model is based on the involvement of businesses, which are “obviously” in need of digitisation and their interaction with the academy’s educational team so the training can be well adapted to their needs and maximise students’ chances of employment.

Potential students wishing to enrol at the academy must fulfil certain conditions, reported Le Télégramme 228:

• They must be Togolese aged between 17 and 30;

• They must have achieved school-leaving qualifications to at least baccalauréat standard;

• No previous technical training is required;

• They must prove they have strong motivation and enthusiasm for digital technology;

• They must enjoy working in a team and under pressure; and

• They must be capable of working independently. — Compiled by Jane Marshall.

This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.