In a span of three years, some 6000 young Palestinians are going to get government-financed training in programming and software development provided by AXSOS, one of Germany’s leading information technology companies, as part of the newly-launched Palestine Youth Coding Program in an effort to build the next generation of Palestinian high tech professionals.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and the Ramallah office of AXSOS Academy, launched the program on Thursday with an ambitious goal of qualifying 6000 young Palestinians in software development.
Speaking at the launch event held at the Prime Minister’s office, Shtayyeh said the launch of this program, even though delayed by few months due to the Corona Pandemic lockdown, is now off the ground and ready to start training the first batch of students.
“The year 2020 will be the year of young people to create opportunities for them and to empower them,” he said.
“Software development is the language of this century. For us software development is also the language of digital economy. We want to keep up with the development of this field. We want to put a trade mark on Palestine and we want the young people to have this label. When we talk about software development, we talk about the fourth industrial revolution, we talk about artificial intelligence. There are many new professions being born in the world based mainly on artificial intelligence, and we as Palestinians cannot stay behind the world, we have to run to catch up with the world.”
Shtayyeh added: “This 3-year program will qualify about 6,000 young men and women in software development because we also want to export a different kind of goods that do not know barriers and keep up with the global trend that are based mainly on software, industrial revolution and artificial intelligence, and that has to do with life in the world.”
Over a period of four months, the AXSOS Academy will train Palestinians to become qualified software developers capable of working in local and global IT companies, according to an AXSOS press release.
The Palestinian Youth Coding Program is mainly financed by the Palestinian Authority, in particular the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Empowerment, which will cover over 90% of the student fees while the remaining will be paid by the student, who will get intensive training by AXSOS Academy for 10 hours a day, six days a week over a four-month period starting August 1. The training will start with 60 Palestinian students, but this number will gradually increase in each stage to finally reach 6000 by the end of the 2020-2023 program.
The graduates will then be connected to the labor market and recruited through a network of AXSOS Academy employers, said the AXSOS press release.
“We are very happy that Palestinian companies are involved in this program, and international companies as well and every graduate of this program will find a job. We will fund every student involved in this program to enhance their capabilities and empower them,” said Prime Minister Shtayyeh.
“Technology should not be ed to the financially-capable sector. We want technology to be an opportunity for the poor. We want it to be an opportunity for young people, and an opportunity for gender balance. This is a program based on the human mind. Today we are launching the program from here and there will also be one in the Gaza Strip.”
