GIFEC to Train 100,000 Artisans

The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) in a quest to expand capacity building into the informal sector, would train over 100,000 artisans next year.

This would be done under the Digitize Ghana Module of the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo) programme.

Announcing this on Monday at the opening of the orientation session for the beneficiaries of NaBCo, the Director of GIFEC, Mr. Kofi Asante said “These novel target groups will include market men and women, mechanics, carpenters, drivers, tailors and seamstresses, hairdressers and beauticians, traders and other artisans.”

Currently, GIFEC has 226 Community ICT Centres dotted throughout the nation.

These centres, according to Mr. Asante, are currently undergoing massive transformation to enable them to serve as community hubs for myriad ICT and e-Government services.

“In line with the later, these centres will serve as service delivery points for among other government agencies including National Identification Authority (NIA) and Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA),” he stressed.

He believes with the services of the NaBCo beneficiaries, their mandate of bridging the digital divide between the served and unserved communities would be delivered.

So far 4,500 students have been trained through the ‘GIFEC Coding For Kids’ programme.

Over 500 ICT teachers have also been given adequate skills to boost their capacities to enable them to discharge their duties effectively in the teaching of ICT in basic schools.

On his part, Mr. Browan Mubarak, NaBCo National Coordinator urged the trainees not wait till the end of their service before they activate their creative ideas.

He further assured the trainees of their readiness to assist them build their profile towards acquiring their initial capital.

GIFEC, NaBCo Partnership

1,487 NaBCo beneficiaries have been deployed to serve under the Digitize Ghana Model, which GIFEC is the lead implement of.

The NaBCo beneficiaries will provide support to segment the operations of GIFEC Projects, including Community Information Centers (CICs), School Connectivity, Digital Financial Inclusion, ICT Awareness, Capacity Building, Smart Community Initiative, Coding for Kids and Universal Access to Telephony.

GIFEC seeks to leverage on these beneficiaries to support the implementation, operation and monitoring of its programs and projects in the various districts.

By: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum