The Ministry of Information has shared findings of a survey carried out on a rural youth digital skills training program in Kenya during the just-concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

The presentation were shared on behalf of Ministry of Information by Zilpher Owiti, at the Huawei Green Development Summit held on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress.

The findings from a report that has been developed evaluate the impact of the DigiTruck digital skills training program.

 The program has trained over 4,400 youth in 26 Counties. It provides each youth with 40 hours of training on digital skills, part of the government’s ambitious goal of training 20 million citizens.

 This is Ministry program in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, through the National Youth Council and Kenya National Innovation Agency, Huawei, Safaricom, Computers for Schools Kenya, Close the Gap (an international NGO), the NGAAF among other partners.

 President Ruto visited the DigiTruck in November of 2023.

 Following the success of DigiTruck in Kenya, more of the hub have been launched across the globe.

Ms. Owiti showcased the government’s digital skills agenda that is highly targeted to providing jobs for Kenyan youth and shared the lessons learned with over 150 people from around the World who were in attendance.

In evaluating the project, a third-party interviewed almost 800 youth and found a decline in the unemployment rate of 6%; a decline in the number of youth earning nothing by 11% and those earning below 10,000/- shillings per month by 7%, meanwhile, equivalent numbers increased their earnings.

93% reported the skills enhanced their ability to do work; 79% of participants have helped others gain digital skills; and 75% reported that they feel safe when accessing the internet, thanks to the training they received on cybersecurity.