President John Dramani Mahama has launched a nationwide digital skills training initiative dubbed “One Million Coders Program” in fulfilment of his electioneering campaign promise to introduce structured digital skills training for Ghanaian youth within 120 days of his presidency.
The program is designed to offer at least one million Ghanaian youth with formal training in digital skill under six carefully designed modules, with the view to preparing the youth for current and future job opportunity, and also to empower them to be entrepreneurs and create jobs for themselves and others.
The modules are specifically crafted to equip the youth with the digital skills they need, not just to survive, but to lead in the 21st century economy as thinkers, builders and problem solvers who will shape the future of the country with “code in their hands, and opportunities in sight.”
The six modules, which come in beginner, intermediary and advanced levels, include Certified Cybersecurity Professional, Certified Network Support Technician, Certified Data Protection Manager, Certified Data Protection Expert, Certified Data Protection Officer, Certified Data Protection Professional, and Data Analyst Associate.
Each of the courses will have coding as a fundamental program, and there will also be an Elective Coding Course to be run as part of the entire program.
Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence is leading the content creation and training under the program, which will first be piloted in four locations – Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani and Tamale, before it will go nationwide over the four-year period.
Some of the leading partners for this program include GIZ, Smart Africa, Inobub, MTN Ghana, Telecel Ghana, AT Ghana and several others.
In his keynote address, President John Mahama said “When I asked for your mandate once more to serve as president, I made a promise that our national recovery will be people-centred, innovation-led and future-focused and that recovery begins by breaking the barriers that hold us back – social, economic and digital – today we begin breaking down those barriers with the launch of the One Million Coders Program to equip one million Ghanaians with digital skills over the next four years.”
He however noted the program is more than just a fulfilled campaign promise, but a strategic pillar of the government’s Reset Agenda, designed to empower Ghanaians with digital skills critical for 21st century life and work.
The President said the launch of the One Million Coders Program is a defining moment, where Ghana is laying the foundation for the new economy, and a declaration that Ghana is ready to lead in the digital age.
He noted that the kind of skills the modules are designed to give are not just technical abilities but economic passports and pathways to decent jobs, entrepreneurship and long-term social and economic inclusion.
Speaking of inclusion, the President said the program is intentionally designed to drive inclusivity, hence for every cohort, both males and female applicants will be given equal number of slots, and persons living with disability will also be carried along as well.
President Mahama noted that Ghana is not on this path alone, as countries like Estonia, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States have all made significant advancements in development through deliberate and intentional digital skills training for their youth, including even very little children, over the years.
“Ghana has the potential to be Africa’s premier Business Processes Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Processes Outsourcing (KPO) hub because we are strategically located on the Greenwich Meridian, so with the right digital skills our youth can attract outsourced jobs from around the world,” he said.
He believes the program will also provide Ghanaian youth with the required digital skills for entrepreneurship in healthcare, governance, education, agriculture and more, and thereby creating hundreds of jobs at the community level for even more Ghanaians.
Interested persons can register for the program at https://onemillioncoders.gov.gh
