The African Development Bank has launched the ‘Coding for Employment’ digital training platform, an online tool to provide digital skills to African youth, wherever they are across the continent.
The platform, launched at the 2019 African Economic Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, aims to promote a continuous learning culture among young people and build their capacity to shape the continent’s future.
The high-level event drew heads of state and government, ministers and leaders from the private sector and academia to discuss how this new tool and other technological innovations could be used to spur development across the continent.
“The youth employment and skills development challenge is a complex issue that requires systemic thinking and bold partnerships to address the existing skills gap and link youth to decent and sustainable employment,” said Hendrina Doroba, the African Development Bank’s Acting Director for Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development.
“The skills training platform launched is a testament to the impact that such partnerships can achieve and the bank looks forward to strengthening similar partnerships.”
The platform teaches technical courses such as web development, design, data science and digital marketing and will be constantly adapted to respond to market demand. It is accessible on mobile devices, even in low Internet connectivity settings and has an affordable, easy-to-navigate, secured and private interface.
“A defining challenge of our time is ensuring that everyone has equal opportunity to benefit from technology,” said Ghada Khalifa, Director of Microsoft Philanthropies for the Middle East and Africa.
“Forward-thinking initiatives such as the digital training platform represent our commitment to helping drive the momentum needed. Though there is still much work to be done, we believe that through dynamic partnerships such as these, we can help build a knowledge-based economy in Africa that leaves no person behind.”
The African Development Bank has launched the ‘Coding for Employment’ digital training platform
