Wazua
»
Market
»
Technical
»
Future of IT in Kenya
Rank: Veteran Joined: 8/25/2012 Posts: 1,826
|
wa P wrote:wanyee wrote:ChessMaster wrote:Skills are lacking otherwise hubs wouldn't be necessary. The problem I was stating is a problem we've all heard before,people have the necessary papers but can't translate them to output at work and that goes beyond IT/ICT. Even Juliana Rotich one of the founders is pushing for more people to learn and acquire skills(there is a international talk she was in last year).
Skills that are lacking:Assembly programming,In depth operating system knowledge,Multimedia(graphics,images,video,audio),Hacking and Security(Cryptography),Programming languages,Smartphone programming,Social Media utilization,HTML5,User Experience Designers,DATA SCIENTIST!!!!!
Considering what you are saying about Kenya beating South Africa we are quite far because I believe the majority of people go the networking route. Of the types of "skills" you are mentioning above....  plenty of those available. i dont how you would benchmark the "skills".. in terms of certifications ..or in terms of in-depth understanding of the underlying mathematical/scientific concepts behind them Not the certifications. Those we left in River Road. Talk of globally benchmarked, applied skills. the skills are available, maybe just not at the volume and price the googles and microsoft and the other tech giants require
|
|
|
Rank: Member Joined: 7/17/2011 Posts: 627 Location: Mbui-Nzau, Kikumbulyu
|
wa P wrote:wanyee wrote:ChessMaster wrote:Skills are lacking otherwise hubs wouldn't be necessary. The problem I was stating is a problem we've all heard before,people have the necessary papers but can't translate them to output at work and that goes beyond IT/ICT. Even Juliana Rotich one of the founders is pushing for more people to learn and acquire skills(there is a international talk she was in last year).
Skills that are lacking:Assembly programming,In depth operating system knowledge,Multimedia(graphics,images,video,audio),Hacking and Security(Cryptography),Programming languages,Smartphone programming,Social Media utilization,HTML5,User Experience Designers,DATA SCIENTIST!!!!!
Considering what you are saying about Kenya beating South Africa we are quite far because I believe the majority of people go the networking route. Of the types of "skills" you are mentioning above.... plenty of those available. i dont how you would benchmark the "skills".. in terms of certifications ..or in terms of in-depth understanding of the underlying mathematical/scientific concepts behind them Not the certifications. Those we left in River Road. Talk of globally benchmarked, applied skills.  and this skill too------->Multimedia(graphics,images,video,audio) river wood rings a bell? in river rori?
|
|
|
Rank: Veteran Joined: 8/25/2012 Posts: 1,826
|
wanyee wrote:wa P wrote:wanyee wrote:ChessMaster wrote:Skills are lacking otherwise hubs wouldn't be necessary. The problem I was stating is a problem we've all heard before,people have the necessary papers but can't translate them to output at work and that goes beyond IT/ICT. Even Juliana Rotich one of the founders is pushing for more people to learn and acquire skills(there is a international talk she was in last year).
Skills that are lacking:Assembly programming,In depth operating system knowledge,Multimedia(graphics,images,video,audio),Hacking and Security(Cryptography),Programming languages,Smartphone programming,Social Media utilization,HTML5,User Experience Designers,DATA SCIENTIST!!!!!
Considering what you are saying about Kenya beating South Africa we are quite far because I believe the majority of people go the networking route. Of the types of "skills" you are mentioning above.... plenty of those available. i dont how you would benchmark the "skills".. in terms of certifications ..or in terms of in-depth understanding of the underlying mathematical/scientific concepts behind them Not the certifications. Those we left in River Road. Talk of globally benchmarked, applied skills. talk of this skill -------->Hacking and Security(Cryptography) recently locked phones by CCK are being unlocked in the same River Road!!! ati unlocking a phone is a Cryptography skill
|
|
|
Rank: Elder Joined: 2/23/2009 Posts: 1,626
|
Glad you agree sitaki.kujulikana. @wanyee google for the Julisha Kenya ICT report by the ICT Board.It can give statistics in a better way than I can. There is also more to multimedia than meets the eye.But for arguements sake, if the skills are there why are there so many expatriates taking the jobs and why haven't the locals made use of these skills except for a few individuals and organizations? Uncertainty is certain.Let go
|
|
|
Rank: Member Joined: 7/17/2011 Posts: 627 Location: Mbui-Nzau, Kikumbulyu
|
sitaki.kujulikana wrote:wanyee wrote:wa P wrote:wanyee wrote:ChessMaster wrote:Skills are lacking otherwise hubs wouldn't be necessary. The problem I was stating is a problem we've all heard before,people have the necessary papers but can't translate them to output at work and that goes beyond IT/ICT. Even Juliana Rotich one of the founders is pushing for more people to learn and acquire skills(there is a international talk she was in last year).
Skills that are lacking:Assembly programming,In depth operating system knowledge,Multimedia(graphics,images,video,audio),Hacking and Security(Cryptography),Programming languages,Smartphone programming,Social Media utilization,HTML5,User Experience Designers,DATA SCIENTIST!!!!!
Considering what you are saying about Kenya beating South Africa we are quite far because I believe the majority of people go the networking route. Of the types of "skills" you are mentioning above.... plenty of those available. i dont how you would benchmark the "skills".. in terms of certifications ..or in terms of in-depth understanding of the underlying mathematical/scientific concepts behind them Not the certifications. Those we left in River Road. Talk of globally benchmarked, applied skills. talk of this skill -------->Hacking and Security(Cryptography) recently locked phones by CCK are being unlocked in the same River Road!!! ati unlocking a phone is a Cryptography skill i did not expressly show Cryptography just linked it to the general subject ..but heehehehe i do not want a dickfest of how lonng your schlong is at discerning Cryptography boss tusiende apo
|
|
|
Rank: Elder Joined: 2/23/2009 Posts: 1,626
|
wa P wrote:@ChessMaster you are spot on!
Anybody who has interviewed IT prospects knows the annoying refrain that 'Networking' has become. You can add 'pHp' as the most ubiquitous 'programming language' you hear of.
ponder these:
1. Anyone reading this who need both hands to count the A+ Oracle DBAs you know?
2. How about Unix OS skills and experience?
3. How many IT training institutions in Kenya spew out market-ready application programmers?
4. Can we list down the 'original, made in Kenya' IT end products that make commercial sense - that is, satisfying a need profitably?
etc etc.
The IT integration projects in corporate Kenya is littered with 9ijas, Indians, Zimbabweans and most recently East Europeans. So much for hubs, Nokias and IBMs.
The IT body in Kenya need a lot more than hubs and 'tunaomba selikali'. Top amongst being; good IT curriculum with an optimum mix of technology and business skills (finance, economics), Global best and next practices and peer reviewed developments, Lesson 101 on internet (such an amazing resource/ platform that we misuse).
Having a facebook account, transferring money by Mpesa and having a yahoo account does not pass as IT skills.
Neither is building a simple website, developing an 'mobile App' that only makes sense to you or having a desk at an incubation room.
Business skills and IT/ICT skills is a major problem even at silicon valley. Plus the problem of making applications that only other techies understand or appreciate and thus leave out the masses of users.Another thing I've noted is people are trying to catch up instead of staying ahead.That's already a losing game. Uncertainty is certain.Let go
|
|
|
Rank: Member Joined: 9/30/2011 Posts: 483
|
sitaki.kujulikana wrote:IT is very broad, and I think some areas have come of age e.g the mobile sector (SMS), I don't think any big company will be outsourcing their IT to kenya any time soon - there are very few specialists Not all IT related outsourcing is specialized (think IT support) and those that are don't need decades to develop eg application development (we don't have to go into manufacturing chipsets), also entry barrier to this industry is not high compared to let say manufacturing. I believe Kenya will become a major player in the outsourcing industry if current efforts by MoIC succeed. Bitange seem to have the vision right and I am hopeful about the future.
|
|
|
Rank: Elder Joined: 2/23/2009 Posts: 1,626
|
The question is do Kenyans have the same vision?Otherwise his efforts will be wasted. I'm not for IT support in the long-term but it's a good way to start out. Also as you say the barriers to entry are not high and with the internet anyone can access the breadth of knowledge offered and shared by the best. All this is already in place but we've got nothing to show for the opportunities before us. Uncertainty is certain.Let go
|
|
|
Rank: Member Joined: 12/16/2008 Posts: 111
|
ChessMaster wrote:But for arguements sake, if the skills are there why are there so many expatriates taking the jobs and why haven't the locals made use of these skills except for a few individuals and organizations? @ChessMaster, i'm surprised that you don't realize that anything Mzungu sells in Kenya. The same guys with the same skillset will definitely be on a higher jobgrade than you are. A case in time is the KDN issue where locals were kicked out in favour of "expatriates". The company is almost being sold as we speak. Read the papers. Macharia (founder of Seven Seas Technologies)was aired on NTV some time back. He says getting contracts in Kenya is so prohibitive that it favours foreign companies. The guy is actually implementing solutions in Nigeria, and yet struggles to get contracts in the country. And when a contract is awarded to a foreign firm, he ends up losing his employees to the same firm to implement or gets approached to implement for a fraction of the contract amount. This is the sad story of affairs
|
|
|
Rank: Member Joined: 7/17/2011 Posts: 627 Location: Mbui-Nzau, Kikumbulyu
|
Tito44 wrote:ChessMaster wrote:But for arguements sake, if the skills are there why are there so many expatriates taking the jobs and why haven't the locals made use of these skills except for a few individuals and organizations? @ChessMaster, i'm surprised that you don't realize that anything Mzungu sells in Kenya. The same guys with the same skillset will definitely be on a higher jobgrade than you are. A case in time is the KDN issue where locals were kicked out in favour of "expatriates". The company is almost being sold as we speak. Read the papers. Macharia (founder of Seven Seas Technologies)was aired on NTV some time back. He says getting contracts in Kenya is so prohibitive that it favours foreign companies. The guy is actually implementing solutions in Nigeria, and yet struggles to get contracts in the country. And when a contract is awarded to a foreign firm, he ends up losing his employees to the same firm to implement or gets approached to implement for a fraction of the contract amount. This is the sad story of affairs True that..e.g. the recent biometrics contract for IEBC to a foreign firm, i was hoping for a local firm to do the roll-out with the accompanying information system, We have perennial weather problems with our rain dependent agriculture i have not seen any IT driven solution to address this in terms of accurate prediction or control systems. Any (I.T.)group/individual which can try to address these (pro bono or o/wise) ..not in isolation but with the relevant expats in these domains can have serious mileage in terms of skill set improvement and R&D as well.
|
|
|
Wazua
»
Market
»
Technical
»
Future of IT in Kenya
Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.
|