Oracle on Thursday announced that the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in Kenya has finalised a workforce development program for young refugees in Kenya, in collaboration with Oracle University.

The UNHCR delivers professional learning courses on Oracle Cloud technologies to refugees with a core background in information technology. The participants also earn a course completion certification from Oracle University, helping them join Africa’s fast-growing ICT industry.

Kenya is the second-largest hosting country of refugees and asylum seekers in Africa behind Ethiopia. According to UNHCR, Kenya’s population of refugees and asylum seekers is at 519,989 in Kakuma, Dadaab and urban areas as of 31 May 2021.

“IT skills training is repeatedly mentioned as a priority by refugees for a better future. UNHCR is committed to exploring innovative ways to ensure that refugees can improve their well-being and dignity through industry associations such as the programmes with Oracle,” said UNHCR Kenya’s Assistant Livelihood Officer, Meshack Mwololo.

“This will help refugees acquire industry-led skills training and global certifications which ultimately enhance the prospect of self or wage employment.”

“Such new opportunities for refugees and host communities are aligned with the Global Compact on Refugees which highlights the significance of enhancing refugee self-reliance,” added Mwololo.

Under this program, 13 young learners have received training on Java SE8 fundamentals and Java SE8 programming in Kakuma and Nairobi refugee camps. The participants have successfully completed the qualifying course exams and earned their professional certification.

The training was delivered by Oracle’s workforce development partner and member of Oracle PartnerNetwork, Zinger Solutions Limited.

“As digital transformation gathers pace across Africa, programming skills continue to be in high demand. This training program is designed to help prepare young learners kickstart a rewarding career in the IT industry, directly empowering the youth in refugee camps to sustain their livelihood,” said David Bunei, Country Leader, Oracle Kenya.

“Learning to code requires critical thinking and analytical skills that help train young learners to think creatively, become problem solvers and apply innovative approaches to problems they encounter.”