The initiative is aimed at narrowing the gap between traditional academic education and the practical technology skills increasingly required by employers.
Ghana’s government has partnered with 11 leading universities to integrate certifications from the One Million Coders Programme (OMCP) into existing degree and diploma programmes as part of efforts to strengthen digital skills development.
Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, disclosed the partnership during the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House in Accra. He said Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) had been signed with the participating universities to enable students to gain industry-relevant digital skills alongside their academic qualifications.
The participating institutions include the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC), among others.
The initiative is aimed at narrowing the gap between traditional academic education and the practical technology skills increasingly required by employers. By integrating OMCP certifications into university programmes, students will have an opportunity to graduate with both academic qualifications and additional industry-focused digital competencies.
Implementation is already underway at some institutions. At KNUST, more than 1,000 students have enrolled in the One Million Coders Programme across four centres, including the Department of Computer Science and the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab.
Cybersecurity currently has the highest OMCP enrolment, with 8,570 learners, followed by data analytics, AI Essentials, AI Professional and project management. The figures highlight growing interest in technology-related skills among Ghanaian learners.
The government is also working with the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to extend foundational digital skills training to students aged between 13 and 19. The expansion is expected to introduce digital skills development earlier in the education system and broaden the reach of the One Million Coders Programme.
