Kenya unveils plan to make workers' skills recognised across Africa

President William Ruto at the 81^st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, United States. [PCS]

Kenya is moving to implement a digital system that will allow workers to verify their skills, qualifications and work experience across African borders, President William Ruto has said.

Ruto says Kenya will lead the first national implementation of the Digital Skills Mobility programme, known as the MasterKey Corridor, under the Accra Reset initiative.

The system will create a digital record through which people can securely share verified information about their skills and work history with employers, institutions and authorities in participating countries.

“Talent should be portable, skills should be trusted, and opportunity should cross borders,” said Ruto.

He spoke in  New York on Monday, September 21, during a high-level meeting on the Accra Reset held on the margins of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Ruto said the system could allow a qualification or work record issued in Nairobi to be verified in Accra, Kigali and other locations where opportunities exist.

“A capable young African should be able to compete for opportunity on the strength of skills that can be trusted, not constrained by geography,” he noted.

MasterKey will allow citizens to control the records they share while participating countries retain control over their institutions and data, according to Ruto.

The system will rely on records from authorised institutions and include safeguards on privacy and cybersecurity.

Users will also be able to control access to their records and correct errors.

Ruto says the programme will also need safeguards against fraud, exploitation and discriminatory decisions made through automated systems.

“MasterKey will not award jobs, visas, or professional recognition. Those decisions remain with employers and the competent authorities,” he explained.

Its role will be to provide evidence that employers and authorities can use when making those decisions.

Ruto says Kenya has been expanding digital infrastructure through the Digital Superhighway, including connectivity, digital hubs, public access and digital public infrastructure.

However, he says infrastructure alone will not deliver the benefits of the digital economy unless people can use it to gain skills and access opportunities.

The president also called for African countries to expand access to computing capacity, trusted data, reliable energy, artificial intelligence models and research.

He said cooperation between governments, companies, universities, investors and development institutions will be needed to build those capabilities.

Ruto also called for greater African participation in global technology governance as artificial intelligence changes sectors including education, health, finance and government.

He says the success of MasterKey should eventually be measured by whether a trusted record issued in one African country is recognised and used in another and whether that recognition creates opportunities for citizens.

“Africa must be a builder of the technologies defining this century and a participant in shaping the rules that govern them,” Ruto added.