Safaricom Partners With Govt to Train 10,000 Kenyans on Internet Installation

Safaricom has partnered with the Kenyan government to train 10,000 youthful Kenyans and impact them with technical skills relating to the installation of fibre optic internet connection. 

The new project will be undertaken through a programme dubbed “Connect Academy” - a product of a partnership between Safaricom and the ICT Authority. 

The 5-year programme seeks to train enough technicians o allow the government expand internet access through public wifi hotspots, fiber networks in homesteads, and digital village hubs.

 The first group of trainees will start training next month where 200 young Kenyans will work under the tutelage of Safaricom engineers. 

Safaricom’s Chief Consumer Officer Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi added that the programme would work with Technical and Vocational Educational Training institutions (TVETs) to include broadband courses in the curriculum to better prepare students for the upcoming job opportunities. 

“Our target is to grow a world-class broadband connectivity talent pool for both public & private sectors in partnership with TVETs. This will create employment and a career path for Kenyan youth who lack higher education. We intend to have the first cohort of 200 begin in May. They will go through a full day of training offered by our engineers every Friday for three months,” Kimathi noted. 

The ICT Authority, through its CEO Stanely Kamanguya praised the public partnership with Safaricom - adding that it was part of the Presidential DigiTalent Programme. 

He further urged other players in the private sector to partner with the government in fostering industrial training and certifications for young Kenyans seeking to work in the digital economy. 

“This academy feeds right into our plan to collaborate with the private sector in our digital transformation agenda. We have been very consistent that as government, we cannot do this alone, and that’s why we’ve been calling upon the private sector to come in and support and collaborate with us,” he said.