Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Assistant Directors that attended the launch.
Freetown, 10 July 2026
The Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI), in partnership with the Ministry of Public Administration and Political Affairs (MoPAPA), the Public Service Academy nd the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO), today launched the Digital Skills Training Programme for Civil Servants at the New Brookfields hotel in Freetown. The programme will train civil servants in its first year, part of a wider national pipeline that targets 3,000 civil servants trained under the Digital Skills Development and Gig Economy Pipeline (2025–2026) and 5,000 or more over the longer term. Training begins 17 July at the Public Service Academy.
The launch advances two of the five national priorities anchoring H.E. President Julius Maada Bio’s second-term agenda, Technology and Infrastructure, and the Transformation of the Public Service architecture are both pillars of the Big Five Game Changers set out in the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024–2030 (MTNDP).
Stevenson Kamanda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation
“Digital competence is no longer a specialised skill reserved for a technical few. It is a baseline expectation for every civil servant, in every ministry, department and agency. I expect every officer who passes through this programme to bring what they have learnt back to their desk and put it into practice. Continuous professional development of this kind is how we build the capable, effective public service the Big Five Game Changers calls for.” – Stevenson Kamanda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation
The case for the programme rests on evidence as well as ambition. MoCTI’s Digital Skills Market Study Report (2025) identified a gap in practical digital skills across the public sector, particularly outside Freetown and other major urban centres. That finding informed the programme’s design and its priority skills areas, basic digital literacy and productivity tools, data management and reporting, digital communication platforms, artificial intelligence and automation, cybersecurity and data protection, and digital leadership and innovation.
“Public administration reform and digital transformation are two expressions of the same goal. The Big Five game-changers set a target for a capable and effective public service, and that target cannot be reached without a workforce that can use the digital tools now embedded in government operations. This partnership between MoPAPA and MoCTI shows what inter-ministerial collaboration looks like when it is built around a shared national outcome rather than separate mandates.” – Mohamed Kutubu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration and Political Affairs
Mohamed Kutubu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration and Political Affairs
The principal of the Public Service Training College, Dr Victor Massaquoi, set out the scope and mechanics of the rollout.
“The college has built this programme around hands-on, practical learning. Civil servants will not simply hear about digital tools; they will use them, under guidance, until the skills are second nature. We are committed to delivering the same standard of training to every cohort, from the first group starting on 17 July through to the last, and we are ready to begin.” – Dr Victor Massaquoi, Principal, Public Service Academy
Dr Victor Massaquoi, Principal, Public Service Academy
The curriculum is structured across six priority areas identified in the Digital Skills Market Study Report: foundational digital literacy and productivity tools, data management and reporting, digital communication platforms, artificial intelligence and automation, cybersecurity and data protection, and digital leadership and innovation. Participants move through foundational, intermediate and advanced material depending on their role, from administrative officers to technical and ICT staff, middle-level managers and selected senior officials.
Making his keynote address, Mr Prince Cole, the Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service, said:
Mr Prince Cole, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service
“We are living in an era defined by technological advancement, an age where digital transformation is no longer optional but an imperative. Governments across the globe are leveraging digital tools to enhance service delivery, improve transparency and promote greater accountability. As civil servants, we must not only keep pace with this change but also lead the way to adapt it to our national development context.” – Mr Prince Cole, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service
Cohort 1 begins training on 17 July at the Public Service Academy, the first of successive weekly cohorts that will run across the roughly eight to nine months it takes to complete the full rollout. MoCTI has confirmed that progress updates will follow as successive cohorts move through training, with a further media moment planned around the start of Cohort 1. Implementation continues beyond training delivery, with monitoring and evaluation and integration into continuing professional development planned as later phases of the programme.
MDAs are expected to identify and put forward eligible officers, with names then shared with MoPAPA to confirm each cohort ahead of training. Civil servants are encouraged to speak to their MDA’s human resource focal point to express interest and be considered for a place in an upcoming cohort.
For media enquiries, interview requests or additional information about the Digital Skills Training Programme for the civil service, please contact the ministry’s Media and Communications Unit on comms.mocti@gmail.com
