July 16th 2019

by Milka Ndoncho

Over 900 ICT and engineering graduates have undergone internship in the public and private sectors over the past four years under the Presidential Digital Talent Programme (PDTP), Principal Secretary (PS) for ICT Mr Jerome Ochieng has said.

Mr. Ochieng said that the program implemented by the Ministry of ICT in partnership with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has taken on board another group of 400 interns to be attached to the public and private sectors over the next one year.

Speaking at the University of Nairobi, today during the Presidential Digital Talent Program job and career fair, the PS said the Program aims at helping the youth in developing and exploiting their potential ICT skills.

Mr. Jerome explained that, PDTP has attracted over 100 partners since the program started. He added that the program prepares and positions the interns for the job market by having them work in the private and public sectors for 12 months to develop skills and learn work ethics and values.

Mr Ochieng said, the interns have generated over 30 innovations, which have been adopted in the delivery of government services. He added that over 400 job opportunities have been created by the program.

The Principal Secretary noted that, over the past four years, the interns have made immense contribution by helping in the integration of ICT during the marking of the national examinations and assisted in the digitalization of the records at the Ministry of lands. Additionally, the interns have helped in the implementation of the Digital Literacy Program (DLP) and the National Integrated Identification Systems (NIIMS).

The PS Mr. Jerome urged the publics to support digitization initiatives by the government and asked young people to registered in the Ajira Digital Program to acquire skills to facilitate them access online digital work opportunities.