• Algérie Télécom opens Sétif Skills Center to youth innovators
• Facility offers free AI lab, ICT training, expert workshops
• Part of nationwide plan to boost youth skills, digital strategy
Algeria's state-owned telecommunications company, Algérie Télécom, signed a framework agreement on Saturday, September 27, with the Directorate of Youth and Sports for the Sétif region. The national operator has committed to making its "Skills Center" available to young people, students, innovators, and emerging project developers in the region, which has an official population of 2.1 million.
"This creative structure will provide collaborative spaces, training workshops supervised by national and international experts, and an artificial intelligence laboratory free of charge, giving young people the opportunity to acquire skills and materialize their innovative ideas," the historical operator said in a statement on its Facebook page.
The Sétif Skills Center, inaugurated last February, is the first in a series of similar centers the government plans to open across several provinces to provide young people with free training in advanced technologies. Other centers have already opened in Annaba and Oran. These hubs offer training in fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, and other information and communication technology (ICT) specialties.
This announcement follows a meeting approximately two weeks ago between Minister of Post and Telecommunications Sid Ali Zerrouki and Youth Minister Mustapha Hidaoui on strengthening cooperation between their departments. The ministers stressed the authorities' commitment to placing youth at the core of the national digital strategy by developing programs to enhance young people's skills, stimulate their creativity, and encourage their innovation capacity. They also underscored the importance of implementing concrete projects that leverage the technological expertise of the telecommunications sector while building on initiatives driven by youth establishments.
Isaac K. Kassouwi
