By Samuel Akumatey
Ho, May 5, GNA – The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) has graduated 4,335 individuals, who completed its digital skills training project.
The Digital Transformation Centres Project targets the youth and women entrepreneurs, providing them with knowledge in basic ICT and tech-based platforms to aid their development within a growing digital environment.
The three-year project is being supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and has a target of about 14,000 beneficiaries.
Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefa, Chief Executive Officer of GIFEC, addressing the national climax of the project at the Ho Digital Transformation Centre, said the programme would enroll its last batch, whose graduation is expected to increase the number of beneficiaries to more than 17,000.
He commended partners and stakeholders, including international IT organisation Cisco for the success of the initiative, adding that several expert trainers and trainers had been produced.
Beneficiaries were trained in Cisco-certified basic and intermediate ICT courses and were charged to make the most of the skills acquired in transforming themselves and society.
“I would like to urge all participants across the country to capitalise on the skills acquired through this rare opportunity, to enhance your businesses, employability and your lives in general, for economic benefits,” Mr Ofosu Sefa stated.
He said the investment fund, in its two decades of existence, had won several feats within its mandate of deepening access to communication technology, and that together with its partners, the impacts would be sustained.
Mr. Alex Boamah of the International Telecommunications Union, which also is a major partner to the project, said participants had been equipped with digital entrepreneurship skills and could utilise social media and other web-based platforms to explore opportunities within the expansive world market.
He said beneficiaries had the power to surf the web to enrich their knowledge while their visibility as entrepreneurs improved.
Mrs. Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Member of Parliament, and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communication, said participants should realise the essence of the training and seek to elevate themselves and industry.
She called on young industrialists to consider working as groups and cooperatives, saying strength in numbers helped survive a complex and dynamic modern marketplace.
Mr. Divine Bosson, Ho Municipal Chief Executive, said the government had designed the programme to address the skills gap while it pursued a total digitisation agenda.
“The digital age is coming, and we must adjust to the transformation agenda,” he said, adding that beneficiaries in the Municipality would find use within the widely promoted oxygen city project.
Togbe Kasa III, Divisional Chief of Ho Ahoe, said the initiative was “a critical component of economic transformation and growth, and that graduates should be able to use the skills and tech acquired to “give meaningful change” in their communities.
Some beneficiaries shared stories of the training impact, with some getting the enlightenment to explore new entrepreneurial pathways, while others including a female security officer, appreciated the knowledge acquired in cyber security.
The Volta Region has 10 out of 155 training centres across the country. The trainees were awarded certificates at the graduation.
GNA