Agosto<div><br></div><div>I think this has been misunderstood or perhaps it is not clear. we are actually on the same page. This is to enable us to adopt a globally certified software development methodology and certification for generic software development. This is Most software developers in this country would benefit from the establishment of a higher standard of code development. Most software firms would benefit from access to international certification in process and methodology which is otherwise very expensive. </div>
<div><div><br></div><div>Good example is the project in South Africa at the University of Wits with the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering. <a href="http://www.jcse.org.za/">http://www.jcse.org.za/</a>. We had spoken to them about partnering as well, but opted for this option.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The suggestion you make is not an alternative, but another important strategy for achieving a more enhanced IT services sector and it is actually one that we have given much thought too. We are seeking the funding to do as well. Just this morning I have had a meeting with Symantec who are beefing up their presence in Kenya. Some of the discussions we have had go along the same them as I have had with many other multinationals who visit us often.</div>
<div><br></div><div><ol><li>Many Kenyan business owners in IT services are afraid to make the investment in top talent certification despite the obvious returns because the certified employees often flee and are 'unbondable'. As an example it costs close to 10,000 USD to certified a top Cisco engineer who can then earn that in a month with some experience in any market in the world.</li>
<li>To develop Kenya's ICT credentials we will need to develop more certified engineers and experience consultants across the board, and across various technology platforms. We need technical implementation people, but we also need systems architects and experienced solution designers who can interpret business problems and convert them into an IT specification. Those who have been the industry for a while will attest to the fact that although we have a growing Kenyan pool, still many large IT systems in banks, major multinationals and other large organizations have substantial input from consultants from outside Kenya. This is for various reasons and is not unique to Kenya. At the very top level of talent in IT, there is a global shortage.</li>
<li>To build Kenya IT properly, the investments in all the right places need to be made. As we spend more on IT as a country, the demands becomes even more sophisticated. For example, with the current connectivity transformation, there is need for security, network, data center engineers and consultants. Without any research, one can attest to the frustrations experienced by some on their networks even currently. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs.</li>
<li>When we sell the country as an outsourcing destination, all these things matter, the whole ecosystem including marketing, training, depth of experience, breadth of experience, industry culture, government policy, legislation, peer recommendations by companies based here, and indeed the nightlife.</li>
</ol><div>The reason why we think it important to provide the software sector with greater tools is because this sector is often made up of young brilliant entrepreneurial individuals who leave college sub-optimally equipped for commercial application of their craft. They then have to fend foe themselves and then some of them will develop into good engineers while many other others will pick up bad habits in who they write software. These bad habits become the industry norm and then define our sector. Standards are critical.</div>
</div><div><br><div><br><br>Paul Kukubo<br>Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board<br>PO Box 27150 - 00100<br>Nairobi, Kenya<br><br>12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street<br><br>Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 <br>
<br>Fax: +254 20 2211962<br>Cell: + 254 735 180001<br><br>website: <a href="http://www.ict.go.ke">www.ict.go.ke</a><br>skype: kukubopaul<br>googletalk: pkukubo<br>____________________<br>Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub<br>
<br>Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment <br>Sent from Nairobi, Kenya
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 1:31 PM, Agosta Liko <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:agostal@gmail.com">agostal@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
Paul<br><br>for this software certification program .... how much will be spent ?<br><br>instead of creating a Kenyan cert that will have no global value or that will not make sense to any international employer why dont you just give a 50% coupon to enable Kenyans to sit their linux, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP Certifications ?<br>
<br>or even better, you can refund 80% when a Kenyan techie passes a cert exam {I learnt that people were complaining about cost of international certs}<br><br>this is where am coming from - Kenyan Drs usually have to resit exams etc etc to practice in other countries ... IT is a good area because certs are global (CCIE is known worldwide) ... why cant we stick to what works<br>
<br>Again ... maybe other software outsourcing operators have been asked for certs ... but am sure they were asking for the globally recognized ones<br><br>Can we just cancel this one ? its too much work for nothing ... {a Kenyan Cert in software development} ...<br>
<br>and if you go ahead {which is most likely the case} .. please make it optional ?<br><br>my two cents<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div></div><div class="h5">On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Paul Kukubo <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:pkukubo@ict.go.ke" target="_blank">pkukubo@ict.go.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br>
</div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex"><div><div></div><div class="h5"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;line-height:115%">
<span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Thank you for your questions. many have written to me directly to seek clarification.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;line-height:115%"><span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><br></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;line-height:115%">
<span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">I have received a flurry of questions on the status report and I will respond to those that are of a recurring nature directly on this list while pointing listers to the website <a href="http://www.ict.go.ke" target="_blank">www.ict.go.ke</a> for more information and updates on aspect of the projects. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><br></font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;line-height:115%">
<b><span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Objective
of the assignment</font></span></b><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">The objective of this assignment is to recruit a leading
international academic institution or standards body to develop and implement
an internationally recognized and sustainable software developer certification
program (Certification Program) for Kenya. The Certification Program will have
multiple components, including content and processes for local software
developers to prepare, register and be certified; an Internet enabled
credentialing program; and an initial pilot testing, evaluation and fine tuning
of the Certification Program. The program should be underpinned by a
sustainable business model.</font><b><span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"></font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%">
<font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><br></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in;line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"> <span style="font-family:arial;font-weight:normal"><b><span style="line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Scope of services</font></span></b></span></font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">i.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small"> <span style="font-family:arial;line-height:14px"><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Inception Report and Business Plan:</font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">
Provide an Inception Report that contains a description of start-up
activities, the detailed work plan, methodologies, and an estimate of the time
allocation for involved personnel from both the Government of Kenya and the
organization’s team. In addition, to provide a business plan that spells out
the resources to be deployed and the results proposed to be achieved. The
business plan should also propose long term, sustainable business model options
for the Certification Program.</font></span></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">ii.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Content Development:</font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"> Develop appropriate content for
certification in close collaboration with relevant partners; including leading
international and local IT companies, academic institutions, governments,
international standards bodies and industry/trade associations. The developed
content should have their explicit support in terms of relevance and quality,
be based on the latest technologies and extensible to address the major
languages (C, C++, Java), operating systems, language combinations, and
software development tools and environments.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">iii.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Certification Process Development: </font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Develop an internationally recognized,
authentic, secure and valid process for software developer certification. This
process should be developed in consultation with leading IT companies and
academic institutions as well as have the buy-in of at least two industry
associations of established countries in the area of BPO, and two countries
aspiring to establish themselves in this domain. Countries should be chosen to
be representative of at least three regions out of the following: Latin America
and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, South
Asia, East Asia and other parts of Sub Saharan Africa. In addition, the
processes should be based on proven experiences in similar certification
programs. The testing process should be representative of real-life,
professional software development. The examinations should also be refreshed
annually; and extendable to address the full software development life cycle
(including post-deployment maintenance) and modern issues (including the
development of secure software systems). The examination must be developed
using recognized techniques for validation and verification of quality.
Linkages may be established with one or more organizations with leading testing
and certification mechanisms to ensure that the certification will be conducted
in a secure and proctored setting.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">iv.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Provision of Internet-Enabled
Credentialing Program:</font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">
Provide a web-enabled credentialing program, including functions for online
registration, preparation and certification.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">v.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Piloting:</font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"> To pilot the Certification Program with
an initial batch of at least 50 enrollees, comprising of local software
developers who should be benchmarked against a control group.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">vi.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Evaluation Reports:</font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"> Conduct an evaluation of the pilot to
prepare a detailed report to recommend strategies and action plans for
improving the Certification Program. An evaluation should also be conducted on
gaps and weaknesses in software development skills, so as to recommend changes
in curriculum and pedagogy required as part of broader education reforms in
Kenya.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">vii.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Program Refinement and Local Capacity
Building:</font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"> Refine the Certification Program based on
the agreed recommendations of the Evaluation Report, and develop capacity
within the country to conduct the assessments for certification.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">viii.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">‘Live’ Rollout:</font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">
Commence ‘live’ rollout of the Certification Program with assessment of
certification by local institutions, with the target of testing at least 200
local software developers. In addition, to obtain the commitment of leading
companies operating globally and locally to use the results as a necessary
pre-requisite for their hiring decisions.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:2pt 0in 2pt 0.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">ix.</font><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:small">
</span></font></span><i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Mass Rollout and Marketing, and Business
Model Implementation: </font></i><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif">Implement mass rollout and marketing
campaign for the Certification Program across Kenya, with a target to test at
least 500 local software developers. In addition, to implement a business model
for the Certification Program that is internationally recognized, financially
self-sustaining and affordable for local software developers by the end of this
consultancy service (24 months after contract signature). A final report is to
be prepared to highlight the next steps to be taken by Kenya for the
Certification Program, including future steps on training content development,
certification process and local capacity building.</font></p><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><br><br>Paul Kukubo<br>Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board<br>PO Box 27150 - 00100<br>
Nairobi, Kenya<br><br>12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street<br><br>Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 <br><br>Fax: +254 20 2211962<br>Cell: + 254 735 180001<br><br>website: <a href="http://www.ict.go.ke" target="_blank">www.ict.go.ke</a><br>
skype: kukubopaul<br>googletalk: pkukubo<br>____________________<br>Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub<br><br>Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment <br>
Sent from Nairobi, Kenya
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