Ruto Eyeing Deal With Google To Have Internet In All Schools
The partnership will also allow schoolchildren to be trained in regard to changing trends in the field they are studying in.
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President William Ruto is aspiring to have all schools in Kenya connected to the internet to keep up with a changing job market being mainstreamed by digital channels and advancements in technology.
Speaking during the 15th Anniversary of Google in Kenya at Karura Forest, Nairobi County on Thursday, October 27, Ruto disclosed that the partnership with the multinational tech company would enable young Kenyans to acquire market-leading technical skills.
The partnership will also allow schoolchildren to be trained in regard to changing trends in the field they are studying in.
President Ruto with US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman. /STATE HOUSE KENYA
"To empower young Kenyans with competitive skills at the earliest possibility, there is a real opportunity for partnership in implementing Google’s Computer Science Unplugged curriculum to prepare the next generation of the globally relevant digital workforce.
"We have our eyes firmly fixed on winning and maintaining global leadership in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It is our plan to ensure that Kenya can plug into and service international supply chains from a strong competitive position," Ruto stated.
The Head of State added that the country must step up and claim its share of the digital job creator in order to contribute more of the digital workforce to the country's economy.
"Business process outsourcing offers real opportunities for our young, highly educated, motivated and productive people.
"Kenya must raise its competitiveness and claim its share of this job creator and income generator in order to raise the contribution of the digital workforce to the economy," Ruto stated.
He also called on the global telecommunication company to partner with small businesses, especially the Juakali sector, to integrate technology and their skills.
This would help Kenyans to connect to the global market and advertise their products to get customers.
"Our tremendous informal sector, whose MSMEs employ 85 per cent of non-farm labour, as well as our agricultural sector, which contributes half of our GDP and provides incomes for two-thirds of Kenyan households, can become a force to reckon with if it organizes itself in the digital economy," he stated.
He was with the US ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman and ICT Cabinet Secretary, Eliud Owalo.
A building hosting Google offices. /FILE
