As the government accelerates the rolling out of digital ICT hubs in all 290 constituencies across the country, institutions of higher learning are also seeking to be allowed to host such technological labs to complement efforts to build a digitally empowered nation.
Zetech University is the latest institution seeking to be allowed to empower Kiambu County youths technologically by training them at their state-of-the-art technological labs.
According to the university Vice Chancellor Professor Njenga Munene, the institution seeks to partner with the local government to train and equip youngsters with technological skills to facilitate their employment.
Munene noted that millions of educated youths only require extra digital skills to begin earning from the numerous local and global employers ready to tap the talented workforce.
He made the statement at a time when the country continues to position itself at the forefront of Africa’s Business Process Outsourcing sector (BPO) by rolling out digital hubs.
Kiambu Deputy governor Rosemary Kirika who spoke at the institution challenged the university to also digitally empower businesspersons to upscale their operations.
Construction of hubs is included in Kenya’s Digital Masterplan 2022-2032, which governs the systematic delivery of ICT infrastructure, services, and skill development.
It also provides the country with a 10-year strategy for ICT projects to help investors determine their priorities.
It lists 19 key initiatives on which the government will focus to advance the country’s digital transformation
So far, tens of Jitume Hubs have been opened, an initiative that Members of Parliament continue to fast-track to enhance digital literacy among the youth.
The government seeks to have ICT hubs in all the 1,450 wards in the country with Digital Superhighway being one of the key pillars of the Kenya Kwanza administration development plan as championed in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
President William Ruto’s government seeks to scale up its investments in the relevant infrastructure, including the national broadband and digital hubs, to create jobs for at least one million digital workers in the next five years.