The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and IBM Egypt.
The MoU aims to provide internationally accredited training programs to digitally upskill citizens within “Decent Life” Villages, focusing on university students and job seekers from villagers to qualify them for the digital labor platforms, through training tracks, using the IBM SkillsBuild learning platform (skillsbuild.org).
The MoU was signed by the Deputy ICT Minister for Institutional Development Ghada Labib and the General Manager of IBM Egypt Marwa Abbas.
The ICT Minister indicated that this cooperation comes as part of the cooperation enhanced between state institutions and the private sector in implementing the goals of the "Decent Life" presidential initiative to develop the Egyptian countryside. He stated that MCIT participates in the initiative by implementing various projects to provide high-speed Internet services, upskill citizens digitally, and promote digital literacy to build an integrated digital society and achieve digital economic empowerment in the villages, targeted within the initiative.
Talaat highlighted the significance of raising awareness among the villagers of Decent Life about the advantages of the Internet and encouraging them to subscribe to its services to be a resource to acquire knowledge, receive education and learning, and obtain digital services.
Labib emphasized that, according to the MoU, talented trainers will be trained at MCIT to help in raising and promoting digital literacy and skills among citizens of the Decent Life villages from various societal groups, especially youth, women, and people of determination to achieve digital and financial inclusion to develop a safe, productive and sustainable interactive digital village community. She pointed out that, through the initiative, knowledge will be promoted among citizens of Decent Life villages on the fundamentals of technology and emerging technologies to obtain international certificates in relevant disciplines. This contributes to reaching the largest number of beneficiaries and using mobile units in the governorates and villages of Decent Life.
Abbas stated that IBM is honored to re-cooperate with MCIT in this strategic initiative to upskill youth of different society groups digitally to benefit from the "Decent Life" presidential initiative via IBM SkillsBuild. IBM mission and top goal are to develop the capabilities of young people worldwide and reduce the gap between capabilities and skills and the requirements of the current labor market.
It is noteworthy that this cooperation is part of MCIT efforts to implement Decent Life initiative. MCIT is implementing projects aimed at upgrading the ICT infrastructure, installing fiber-optic cables in the villages, building cell towers to improve the quality of telecommunications services, and developing post offices. This is in addition to building citizens’ digital capabilities, qualifying youth for freelancing, and fostering and training small business owners in digital marketing skills.
Moreover, the cooperation comes as a continuation of the partnerships held between MCIT and IBM, aiming to upskill youth digitally and empower them to compete in the global IT labor market.
