The first cohort of 106 students have graduated under the Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Amalitech collaboration, which seeks to give employable skills in Cloud Computing to over 5000 Ghanaian Youths. The course structure based on the AWS re/Start programme, a free cohort-based workforce development training programme that helped individuals build cloud computing skills-cloud operations, infrastructure support, programming, security, database fundamentals, and security techniques and commercial support functions, connecting participants with employment opportunities. The International Finance Corporation had said more than 230 million jobs would require digital skills by 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Ghana alone, over nine million jobs would need digital skills by the same period, which made it prudent to invest in the future of young Africans. Ruba Borno, the Vice President of Worldwide Channels and Alliances at AWS said during the graduation ceremony that partnering with AmaliTech had been a great e xample of empowering people with the cloud computing skills necessary to take charge of their careers and lauded the investment made by the AWS Partner Network (APN), a global community that leverages AWS technologies, Programmes, expertise, and tools to build solutions and services for customers. More than five million Euros was being injected into the project in Ghana to expand the supply of qualified professionals in cloud computing and increase diversity. The investment would be allocated over the next three years to AmaliTech, a company that provided employment pathways in the technology sector to people in sub-Saharan Africa, connecting them to the global demand for technology talents. Mr. Salami Suleiman, Head of Training at AmaliTech said the company's approach combined training with employment and continuous learning by focusing on skilled technology service. AmaliTech expects to train over 5,000 people, certify 4,000 AWS practitioners, and secure employment opportunities for more than 2,000 indi viduals at the end of 2026, he added. He described the joint project, launched in November 2023 as the largest cooperation by the company history and certainly a huge milestone…' I am very excited about this collaboration and really looking forward to seeing the first wave of trainees complete this excellent course, which will be a life changing experience for many of them.' The Ghanaian students completing this training programme are the diverse, talented cloud workforce of the future, equipping organizations across West Africa and globally to accelerate innovation through the AWS Cloud. Tejas Vashi, Global Lead, AWS re/Start said industry demand for cloud adoption continued to outpace the number of cloud-savvy workers, leaving organizations struggling to find and hire the talent needed to implement cloud services. He noted that together with AmaliTech, the two hoped to remove all such barriers so individuals from all backgrounds could gain skills to launch successful careers in cloud adding that they we re committed to helping AWS customers and partners hire with confidence from a trusted pipeline of early-career talent. Madam Ruth Otasowie, a student from the November 2023 cohort expressed her joy at the opportunity offered her by the companies to have a life changing career in the tech space…' We had dedicated instructors who cared deeply about us learners, plentiful and detailed resources, and exciting material-driven events to break up the monotony, ensuring the execution of a highly recommendable programme as a starting point for cloud computing enthusiasts.' Since its foundation in 2020, AmaliTech programmes have already provided more than 1,000 people in Ghana and Rwanda with much-needed digital skills for today's job market and training a further 5,000 people in cloud computing, marked another major step forward for Ghana's economy, the livelihoods of Ghana's growing workforce, and building a sustainable technology ecosystem in West Africa. AmaliTech placed a strong focus on upskilling and trainin g programmes, an integral part of the social impact business. Source: Ghana News Agency