Oracle launches continent-wide capacity-building plan

Oracle Corporation has announced an initiative to enrich and increase the skills capacity of IT practitioners in Africa.

The four-pronged programme was devised as a response to the rapid adoption of new technologies by governments and businesses on the continent, exacerbating the shortage of suitably skilled practitioners to use the systems to best advantage.

According to Oracle, the dramatic advancement of technology over the past five years has resulted in a gap in IT competencies and skills availability, and organisations in Africa are adopting new technologies at a rate that is outstripping the availability of appropriately qualified staff.

“Today, IT holds the promise to promote social inclusion, combat corruption, expand the digital economy and enable stronger links between citizens and governments, businesses and customers, NGOs and the communities they serve,” said Alfonso Di Ianni, senior vice president, Oracle East Central Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“They can do this and at the same time dramatically reduce costs and improve efficiency. However for technology to support such transformation, organizations must have ready access to people capable of setting up and maintaining these systems.”

Consisting of four elements – employee readiness, ecosystem readiness, workforce readiness and youth readiness – Oracle is reaching out to governments, the private sector and non-profit organisations to implement a long-term skills strategy that will help fulfill demand for relevant IT skills.

“Using the materials and manpower from Oracle University, Oracle Academy, Oracle Partner Enablement, Oracle Sales Consulting and the Public Sector Centre of Excellence, Oracle will, in partnership with the organisation or community, create programmes addressing their skills need,” said Orfhlaith Ni Chorcora, senior director, Business Development at Oracle.

“Two such partnerships are already underway with the Lagos state government in Nigeria and Equity Group Foundation in Kenya to jointly drive successful initiatives tailored to the local needs.”

Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola said building a competitive pool of IT-skilled youth in the state is a priority for the state government.

“To successfully achieve this goal, it takes multi-stakeholder support and long-term collaboration with organisations such as Oracle who share our deepest commitment to building skills and creating exciting job opportunities for the youth of Lagos,” he said.

“We are off to a good start and look forward to increasing that impact in the coming months.”

Dr. Helen Gichohi, managing director of Equity Group Foundation, observed that in the emerging economic order, basic computer literacy means the ability not only to use software, but also to modify or create; in other words, to programme.

“For them to compete internationally, we must also raise their ICT competencies to global standards and keep them intellectually curious, creative and motivated to critically think about their surroundings,” she said.