Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 46 | Page 15

Orange Jordan launches programming academy O range Jordan has opened a coding academy to enhance the cyberskills of the country’s young people. The coding academy will provide students with an opportunity to acquire programming skills with a focus on Java and Python. Fifty young men and women, between the ages of 18 and 30, were officially selected to participate in the first batch of the academy’s recruits, where they are participating in an intensive six-month free training programme before embarking on a month of work experience at companies operating in Jordan. Following its launch Engineer Muthanna Gharaibeh, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, stressed the importance of having programming academies aimed at developing the digital skills of the country’s young men and women. He said that the government is working on several programmes to qualify trainees to deal efficiently with the requirements of the digital economy and provide them with the programming skills required today. He also thanked Orange Jordan for its involvement in training which, he said, enabled the country to keep up with current technological developments and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Terry Marini, Orange Jordan CEO, said it was the first academy of its kind opened by the Orange International Group in the Middle East. He explained it was launched in partnership with Simplon. Co International and expects it to achieve the same success as the other programming academies launched by the group in Senegal and France. Marini stressed that Information Technology, including programming languages, plays an important role in the national economy and cited the increasing number of jobs in the technology sector as evidence. He explained that the job opportunities that may arise in Jordan as a result of technology is likely to reach 10,000 over the next five years. Jerome Heink, Orange Middle East and Africa Executive Vice President, stressed the importance of the academy and said it is expected that it will open the way for young people to gain jobs in the IT sector and contribute to the development of the Kingdom. ///////////////// Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait launches IT academy to develop IT skills A l Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) has launched the ABK IT Academy, the first programme designed to prepare new Kuwaiti graduates for Information Technology jobs within the banking sector. The ABK IT Academy’s first batch of students have begun training, with the programme running until October 1. Training is given on the main IT systems used at ABK, including the Finacle Core Banking solution, the PowerCARD payment processing system, and key Oracle and Microsoft solutions. The programme also provides graduates with the human and soft skills needed to prepare them for entry into the workplace, and to enable them to develop careers as IT professionals in the banking industry. ABK launched the ABK IT Academy as part of its commitment to supporting the Kuwaiti www.intelligentcio.com education sector and its active role in driving workforce nationalisation within the country, by providing Kuwaiti graduates with the support they need to develop careers in sectors that are not serviced by local talent. The bank is investing in technology and innovation in line with its ‘Simpler Banking’ and Digital Transformation strategy, and continuously strives to improve its customers’ digital experience. INTELLIGENTCIO 15