(This article was first published on January 27, 2023)
By Carol Kasujja Adii
The training sessions at the first ever New Vision Education Expo are all about adding value.
There are a series of trainings lined up from Friday, the opening day, until Sunday, where one pays sh10,000 for entrance to attend all training sessions as part of that package.
The first training of the expo was on leveraging ICT for employment by Irene Nakiyimba.
Nakiyimba is the deputy principal at the Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) in Nakawa, where the expo is happening.
She said Uganda needs to integrate information and communications technology (ICT) at all levels.
“Talent is not built when people are already grown up, but in their infancy,” she said.
“If we talk about ICT skills, a junior citizen who has done ICT in kindergarten will outcompete a university student who has been studying it for a year.”
Nakiyimba said that many children of this generation learn ICT inadvertently.
“In order to leverage ICT for employment, we need digital inclusion, where the Government deliberately considers everyone in the sector, including the illiterate ones and those in upcountry communities, by creating an enabling environment for everyone to participate,” she said.
“If we tell people to look for jobs online, we need to have Government centres where they can apply for them, while those who cannot go to such places can access them at subsidiary amounts.”
