Collaborative effort targets Africa's deficiency in digital literacy skills
In a strategic move to address Africa’s digital skills crisis, Swedish global telecom education provider Apis Training has partnered with South Africa's NIL Africa. This collaboration aims to deliver specialized ICT and telecommunications training across Sub-Saharan Africa, equipping local telecom operators, regulators, and enterprises with expertise in critical areas such as mobile networks, 5G technology, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things (IoT) [1][2][3].
Under the terms of the partnership, NIL Africa has been designated as the official reseller of Apis Training’s courses in the region. This localized approach allows for flexibility to customise programs for regional priorities, ensuring the curriculum remains relevant and effective for African telecom professionals [1][2][3][4].
The partnership seeks to bridge the gap between the ballooning demand for digital skills and the limited supply of qualified professionals, building sustainable digital capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa. With mobile internet usage rising fast in Africa and sectors like finance, health, and agriculture rapidly adopting IoT and cloud-based solutions, this capacity is critical to managing the forthcoming surge in mobile data traffic (expected to increase by 400%) and enabling Africa to realize significant economic gains from digital transformation [1][3].
Niklas Thorin, CEO of Apis Training, stated that equipping people with the knowledge to run, secure, and evolve digital networks drives sustainable change. Brad Thomas of NIL Africa emphasizes the urgency of skills development in the telecom and ICT sector, highlighting that the talent pool in Africa remains critically underdeveloped in areas such as mobile network evolution, 5G deployment, cybersecurity, IoT, and cloud infrastructure [1][3].
The collaboration brings world-class learning resources directly into the NIL Africa ecosystem, expanding access to critical ICT and telecom training across one of the world’s fastest-growing digital frontiers. For information regarding training access or enrolment, visit https://nil.co.za/apis-training/.
Global companies are recognizing the long-term opportunity and value in African talent through collaborations like this one. The partnership between Apis Training and NIL Africa strengthens NIL Africa’s mission to localize global knowledge, signaling a shift from imported solutions to locally grown capacity. This shift is crucial to digital transformation in Africa, which could add billions to its GDP over the next decade, but only if skills and infrastructure keep pace [1][3].
In sum, the partnership’s impact is to strengthen digital skills development at scale, empowering professionals with industry-relevant knowledge to run, secure, and evolve digital networks vital for Africa’s socio-economic growth in the digital era [1][2][3].
- The partnership between Apis Training and NIL Africa is aimed at providing education and self-development in ICT and telecommunications, particularly in critical areas like mobile networks, 5G technology, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things (IoT), across Sub-Saharan Africa.
- The collaboration seeks to bridge the gap between the growing demand for digital skills and the limited supply of qualified professionals, thereby building sustainable digital capacity in Africa.
- By equipping people with the knowledge to run, secure, and evolve digital networks, the partnership aims to drive sustainable change, contributing significantly to Africa's socio-economic growth in the digital era.
- This strategic move by global telecom education provider Apis Training and South Africa's NIL Africa is instrumental in localizing global knowledge, shifting from imported solutions to locally grown capacity, and potentially adding billions to Africa's GDP over the next decade, provided that skills and infrastructure keep pace.