Embrace non-traditional modes of ICT training and certification

Throughout the evolution of the Internet, we can consider that the third wave has peaked. The first wave happened between 1985-1999 and was all about laying the foundation of the online world.

The second wave happened at the turn of the millennium and brought much trepidation stretching between 2000-2015 and was all about the App economy and the mobile revolution — search, social, e-commerce and startups growing on top of the Internet.

The third wave started around 2016 and revolved around the Internet of Things (IoT) — ubiquitous connectivity that allows entrepreneurs to transform real major world sectors including transportation, manufacturing and health.

It is no longer the case that the internet or the digital world is the playground for youth, thus the buzz around town for more youth to embrace new forms of ICT training to tap into digital jobs especially those in tertiary colleges and universities by accessing curated programmes geared towards exposing them to the latest industry technologies and trends.

To unlock the potential of youth, governments across the world have doubled down their investments in ICT Infrastructure to ensure connectivity of citizens into the deeper reaches of the countryside.

Several countries are enacting education digitalisation policies to develop sustainable and effective adaptation of education and training models.

The European Union launched the Digital Education Action Plan in 2020 while China, South Korea, and Singapore have gone full throttle with a similar raft of policies on ICT and Education for future-ready and digital learners.

By no means has Kenya been left behind. The Ministry of Education data show that the country has over 560,000 students in the tertiary education space alone on the back of an active push for more competency-based curricula.

During the recently concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, global technology giant, Huawei announced the “Three Trees” model for talent development that included teachers and students, lifelong learners, and industry practitioners hinged on a commitment to deal with opportunities and challenges of the ICT industry developments through its academy programme which is working with over 2,200 Universities and colleges across the world to bridge the ICT talent capability gap with Industry requirements.

The programme first launched globally in 2015 has seen over 150,000 students benefit through direct access to books and publications and virtual or simulated laboratory environments.

In Kenya, Huawei ICT Academy is working with over 50 universities, colleges, and TVETs that can directly access globally recognised ICT Certification. The certification is structured at an associate level, professional level, and expert level. It is important that such programmes focus on equipping lecturers with the latest technology skills through a comprehensive lecturer capability improvement training.

Students should also master various ICT industry technical domains such as datacom, cybersecurity, 5G, WLAN, Cloud, and Artificial Intelligence. The courses focus on the practical capability of the learner and feature simulated lab environments, quizzes and mock examinations among others. After training, students can sit for a certification exam to prove their mastery of the specific technical field.

Other large local and global technology companies are making similar commitments including on monetisation of content by creators. Konza Technopolis, the Vision 2030 project envisioned as a Smart City and digital technology hub, has also rolled out the Jitume Programme in partnership with the Ministry of ICT where it equips classrooms in TVET Centres with computers and delivers online learning models across the country away from its cluster campus. Often, these programs are free and only require that students apply and join and the certificates are valid for formal employment in any sector.

Through the Huawei ICT Competition, students in Kenya have an opportunity to learn and compete on the latest ICT skills at a national, regional, and global level. It is important to expose and train students on fundamental ICT topics critical for a career in ICT such as IT infrastructure, application and software engineering, datacom and optical networks engineering, ICT project manager, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data engineer among others.

For academic institutions to keep pace with the evolving industry requirements, non-traditional forms of training and certification, combined with formal university curricula must now become fit for the purpose now that the ‘traditional’ model focused on academic qualifications has proved insufficient.

These digital training opportunities are disrupting the traditional form of certification and as such, require government and industry to standardise certifications to enable those seeking formal employment the recognition that come with the inevitable frequent upskilling, refresher courses and on the job training.

- The writer is the Head of Huawei ICT Academy at Huawei Kenya