The Telecommunications & Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) announced the launch of three new training pathways in its virtual academy, as part of TDRA’s plan for 2022. These pathways or tracks are centered on the qualification and training of government entity employees to strengthen their capacity in digital service delivery and working under the digital transformation system, in addition to leveraging digital skills among the various segments of UAE’s community in the sphere of digital transformation.
The new tracks include the Digital Government Track, which comes in collaboration with the Prime Minister's Office. It consists of a number of training programs, such as the Basic Digital Skills Program, the Digital Enablers Program and the Digital Service Designer Program.
The Digital Government Track aims to increase the adoption of digital enablers through smart integration of technology, digital processes, and training modules. The track is also features the Digital Enablers Program for capacity building and honing the skills necessary for digital transformation.
Furthermore, the tracks comprise the Emerging Technologies Track and the Digital Skills Track, which are made up of a variety of programs spanning short, flexible 1-1 workshops and intensive virtual camps for school students and fresh graduates of the UAE who are poised to work in various sectors, especially the private sector.
Commenting on this initiative, H.E. Eng. Mohammad Ibrahim al-Zarooni, Deputy Director General of the Information & Digital Government Sector, said: "The TDRA Virtual Academy plays an active role in spreading a culture of digital transformation and building competencies to deal with today’s tools and concepts, in preparation for the future. The Academy is a manifestation of TDRA’s interest in social responsibility, as well as of UAE's interest in the human and global dimension through the establishment of the Center of Digital Innovation in cooperation with the ITU. We believe that the rapid pace of digital transformations requires staying ahead to acquire skills and knowledge that enable different segments of society to adapt and develop themselves.”
He added: “We in the UAE are moving at an accelerated pace in the context of strengthening the foundations of a holistic digital life that promotes the well-being of everyone in the UAE. Hence our interest in boosting the performance of all sectors, as reflected in the private sector engagement in the digital government enablers training program. This program comes under TDRA’s responsibility to organize and empower digital transformation in the UAE, as directed by the wise leadership and the country’s strategies in this regard.”
Digital Enablers Program
The new training plan launches the Digital Enablers Training Program, which aims to build the skills of government and private sector employees on the enablers of digital transformation, strengthen needed competencies in this area, provide digital services that meet the needs of customers, and promote a holistic digital life in the UAE.
The Digital Enablers Training Program targets government and private sector employees, ranging from beginner to advanced, to reach a deep understanding of digital enablers and ways to use the same in reinforcing the proactive approach in delivering services that go beyond customers’ expectations in a secure, reliable digital environment.
The program will cover several digital enablers, including UAE Pass, Digital Vault, APIs Marketplace, Government Service Bus, FedNet, UX Lab, Digital Services Designer Program, Digital Transformation Assessment, NCRM, Unified Digital Platform (UDP), and the Digital Government Maturity Model.
Each digital enabler's training program contains interactive and detailed explanations about the enabler, along with its different use case scenarios in the systems and services of the public and private sectors.
The program is available over the TDRA Virtual Academy, where federal entities and selected partners can register via the Academy’s website prior to their joining the program.
This program is part of the TDRA Virtual Academy’s strategy, which aims to promote the adoption of digital technologies to accelerate digital transformation in the UAE, train employees to be able to develop and provide digital services, and create an ecosystem that induces citizens to use digital services. The strategy also aims to create effective partnerships to assess digital capabilities of the UAE and enhance its reputation in digital transformation and digital knowledge.
This program is in line with the TDRA-adopted digital transformation action plan, which includes 6 priority areas, each with a number of initiatives that all serve the strategic objective of achieving a 100% digital transformation. The priority areas are namely: provide a unified digital platform and common digital enablers; provide a world-class digital infrastructure; enable simple and customer-centric integrated digital services; leverage digital capabilities and skills; ensure readiness of legislation for a smooth and comprehensive digital transformation, and increase efficiency of government action.
The TDRA Virtual Academy is one of the digital enablers contained in the comprehensive digital transformation roadmap, and has contributed, over the past years, to the training of more than 300,000 persons from 50 countries.
Digital Enablers are key digital government tools developed to actualize a comprehensive digital transformation in the UAE, including but not limited to the UAE Pass, Digital Vault and the UAE API Marketplace.