By Mabinty M. Kamara
The Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) has unveiled an online learning opportunity geared towards capacitating the human resource base of Sierra Leone.
Some 3, 800 online courses will be made accessible to Sierra Leoneans through a partnership with the online learning platform, Coursera.
The DSTI says that the programme, which was officially launched on Wednesday, July 1, was designed as part of efforts by the government to provide skills development opportunity for Sierra Leoneans and boost career prospects within the country’s workforce.
Dr. Moinina David Sengeh, Chief Innovation Officer and Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, said the project was designed to complement the effort of the government in leveraging science, technology and innovation to better the lives of Sierra Leoneans.
He added that the project was designed to help students, industry professionals and individuals who are unemployed due to the lack of certain hands-on-skills to “up-skill and reskill”, thereby equipping themselves to meet the demands of the emerging trends in the workforce.
The DSTI says the programme will provide 400 specializations that will support 50, 000 Sierra Leoneans build on in-demand and industry-ready skills to accelerate workforce development, over six months period.
Some of the courses offered are the SAS Programming, Google IT Support, specialization as a Business Analyst, Game Developer and an Android App Developer.
The program was launched in a virtual meeting held in the presence of key stakeholders in government and private sector, including the Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Prof. Aiah Gbakima, the CEO of Orange SL, Aminata Kane Ndiaya, and the CEO of Cousera, Jeff Maggioncalda.
Mr Maggioncalda, who is Chief Executive Officer of the Coursera Work Force Initiative, revealed that Sierra Leone is the first country on the African continent to have launched the programme, which he said was crucial for countries to recover from the effect of the global economic slowdown occasioned by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“The global economic slowdown caused by the pandemic is resulting in job losses around the world. The impact is felt strongly in countries tackling higher unemployment, particularly among the youths. Through the workforce initiative, thousands of Sierra Leoneans, including many young workers, will now be able to gain skills they need to find new and well-paying jobs,” Mr Maggioncalda stated in a presentation during a webinar.
“By responding swiftly, Sierra Leone is setting an example for other countries in the region facing so many challenges,” he added.
The Cousera boss noted that the initiative will provide citizens with access to 3, 800 courses from top universities as well as programs like the Google IT support professional certificate, which quickly provides those with no IT background for high demand jobs.
Maggioncalda went on to say that for this partnership, all courses and certificates are free of charge, as long as one completed a given course on time.
Technical and Higher Education Minister, Professor Aiah Gbakima, applauded the DSTI for the initiative, noting that it is an added advantage for both university graduates and undergraduates as well as those in Technical and Vocational Training Centers. He therefore urged students to take advantage of the opportunity being offered through the programme.
Aminata Kane Ndiaya, CEO of Orange SL, in her statement noted that Sierra Leone was on a catch-up trajectory in terms of access to internet, citing the affordability of the gigabytes to the low income earner in the country, for as low as less than 1$ per GB, as progress.
The Orange boss said the company was also advocating to mobile phone manufacturers to bring in more smart phones to the Sierra Leonean populace and at affordable prices.
Orange is one of the leading mobile networks in the country and it has a partnership with the DSTI geared towards providing internet access to Sierra Leoneans.
To register for the online courses, interested people are urged to visit the DSTI website.
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