The Prime Minister follows up on the executive position of the Digital Pioneers Initiative to support digital transformation

Achievingsustainable development is linked to a set of basic pillars, the first of which is developing infrastructure and enhancing digital transformation paths, ensuring the building of a more efficient economy and the ability to adapt to global changes, in line with the sixteenth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is related to consolidating the principles of peace and justice and building strong and effective institutions capable of managing resources and achieving development in a fair and sustainable manner.

In this context, the Egyptian state continues its efforts to join the ranks of global progress by investing in human capacity development, especially among young people, and qualifying them with future skills in the fields of communications and information technology. This represents an essential foundation for supporting the path of digital transformation and enhancing the efficiency of institutions, which contributes to raising the competitiveness of the national economy and consolidating Egypt’s position in the global digital economy.

Digital Pioneers Presidential Initiative

With this in mind, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, met with Eng. Raafat Hindi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; To follow up on the executive position of the presidential initiative “Digital Pioneers - “Digilians”, which is being implemented in cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Egyptian Military Academy, to be an essential pillar in advancing digital transformation efforts and enhancing the competitiveness of the communications and information technology sector.

The Prime Minister began the meeting by emphasizing the importance of the “Digital Pioneers” initiative in qualifying and training young people in the fields of communications, information technology and software, to be a fundamental pillar in the process of digital transformation and promoting digital exports as one of the axes of national economic development, stressing the need to commit to activating the standards of accuracy, transparency and neutrality in the procedures for accepting beneficiaries of this initiative, in accordance with the directives of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, in a way that enhances society’s confidence in the initiative, in particular It helps in qualifying its beneficiaries to join the jobs required in the labor market.

Empowering young people and preparing them for the labor market

During the meeting, Eng. Raafat Hindi indicated that the initiative aims to empower and prepare young cadres for the digital labor market through academic and professional programs that include master’s, specialized diploma, and intensive diploma, in keeping with the requirements of the local and global labor market, which contributes to providing opportunities for high-quality technical education and training, and is in line with the fourth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) concerned with quality education, in addition to supporting the eighth goal concerned with achieving economic growth and decent work.

In this context, the Minister explained that the number of people enrolled after passing the admission exams was 1,674 young men and women, with 58% females and 42% males, which reflects remarkable progress in empowering women and increasing their participation in the fields of technology, in line with the fifth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on gender equality.

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology also explained that registration for the second batch of the “Digital Pioneers” initiative was opened on April 11; To provide the opportunity for more young people to join the initiative, he pointed out in this regard that a number of specialized laboratories have been equipped to provide technical training for those enrolled in the initiative, and work is underway to complete the rest of the equipment, in a way that supports the quality of the training process, and keeps pace with the requirements of accelerating digital transformation and the needs of the modern labor market.

Strategic partnerships with major technology companies

At the same time, Engineer Raafat Hindi indicated that based on the assignments of His Excellency the President of the Republic; Strategic partnerships have been concluded with major technology companies and international institutions. To provide accredited international certificates and link training to employment, as agreements were signed with 31 companies and workshops were implemented to link students to the labor market.

This is in addition to expanding cooperation with the banking sector and local companies, and 5 companies participated in 18 graduation projects for the business analysis track at the University of Sanz Malaysia, in addition to implementing a set of measures aimed at ensuring the quality of the training process, integrating self-marketing skills and building a digital professional identity while supporting linking graduates to employment opportunities and providing networking forums for employment.

Supporting entrepreneurship and emerging projects

In addition, there is support for entrepreneurship and emerging projects, by enrolling graduates in Digital Egypt Innovation Centers spread across the governorates and private sector incubators to incubate ideas and support in obtaining investments for emerging companies and involving them in developing government applications through the Government Innovation Lab. The Minister explained that an electronic platform is being developed that includes a professional tracking path for graduates, and a quarterly report is being prepared detailing the current position of the initiative.

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology also confirmed that graduates of the Professional Master’s Program obtain international certificates through partnerships with international universities, namely Queen’s University in Canada and the University of Sanz Malaysia. Graduates of the Specialized Diploma Program also obtain two licenses for international tests, while graduates of the Intensive Diploma Program obtain a license for international tests, in addition to obtaining international badges via the Coursera learning platform and other platforms.

In conclusion, the “Digital Pioneers” initiative represents an applied model for reshaping the relationship between education and the labor market in the context of digital transformation, as qualification has become based on building interconnected professional paths that begin with specialized training, pass through international certificates, and end with real employment opportunities or paths to entrepreneurship.

This progression, supported by an advanced training structure and extended partnerships with the local and international sectors, reveals a trend aimed at reducing the time gap between skill acquisition and employment, thus enhancing the efficiency of the system’s outputs and making them more relevant to the requirements of the digital economy.

In turn,The Earth Guards Foundation confirms that supporting digital transformation paths has become an imperative necessity that contributes directly to accelerating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by enhancing the efficiency of resource management, improving the quality of services, and expanding the scope of availability and fairness in opportunities, especially in the areas of education and work.