Creating long-term jobs
through ICT qualification

Utilizing potential and offering young people prospects in their own country

Ghana's positive economic development in recent decades is in large parts due to investments in people's education. However, the often theoretical nature of education creates a discrepancy between the qualifications acquired and the requirements of companies, with the result that unemployment remains at a high level despite the economic upwards trend. At the same time, many highly qualified Ghanaians emigrate because they cannot find adequate job opportunities in their home country.

digiCAP.gh is a project that addresses the frequent lack of demand-oriented qualification in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). The aim is to bridge the existing gap between supply and demand in the Ghanaian labour market. Promoting the ICT sector is particularly important because it acts as a growth engine and contributes to the further development of the entire private sector. Existing (internet) infrastructure, adequate security, national stability and a generally favourable business environment support the establishment of new ICT companies in Ghana and create the conditions for a successful project with employment effects.

Universities as training centers for motivated professionals and as placement agents to the private sector

digiCAP.gh is a partnership project of the AFOS Foundation for Entrepreneurial Development Cooperation of the Federation of Catholic Entrepreneurs (BKU) with the University of Cape Coast (UCC), the Accra Technical University (ATU) and the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH). The project aims to develop the capacity of the universities, as well as local business institutions, to deliver practical ICT qualification programs that are aligned with the needs of local businesses. Both short-term and long-term programs for students will be developed and established.

By providing needs-based training for ICT professionals, the partnership project aims to contribute to an increase in the productivity and competitiveness of Ghanaian companies and thus to an increase in employability. Consequently, on the one hand, the project supports the success of the students by training them and introducing them to the network of the ICT sector. On the other hand, a pool of demand-orientated qualified workers is built up for companies, minimizing the effort required to find suitable employees.

Establishing long-term collaborations to strengthen employability skills

Since October 1, 2020, the partners have worked together with 19 companies based in Ghana. By the end of 2022, more than 500 graduates, one third of them women, have already been educated by the newly established training and qualification measures: 255 people in six-months study courses in "Data Science", “Data Analytics” and "Business Intelligence" and 332 people in short-term measures.

The intense exchange with the local business association Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) and companies such as the German IT company getINNOtized GmbH with a subsidiary in Ghana, contributes to an accelerated knowledge transfer between the private sector and the partner universities of the project. Through workshops, boot camps and quarterly network meetings in the context of the newly established symposium INDAC-TED, the emphasis on business-specific aspects could be further intensified. In addition, the IIPGH is involved in the mechanisms of project development and management to support the sustainability of the project.

The goal is to train a total of at least 400 students in the six-months study courses by the end of the project in December 2023. At least 500 students are supposed to participate in shorter training courses. In addition, at least 100 ICT graduates are expected to have found employment corresponding to their qualifications gained through the project.

Further information and impressions can be found on the project's website: https://digicap.afosfoundation.org/.

The partnership project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) within the framework of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition"  via sequa gGmbH.