One Million Coders Programme Risks Chasing Numbers Over Skills – Expert
Ghana’s flagship One Million Coders initiative risks prioritising headline figures over meaningful skill development, according to cybersecurity and digital transformation expert Desmond Israel, who says the programme must be judged by employability and practical outcomes rather than completion statistics.
Israel, founder and lead consultant at Information Security Architects Ltd, raised concerns following government figures indicating that more than 12,000 learners have completed courses under the programme, which forms part of efforts to build a digitally skilled workforce under President John Dramani Mahama’s administration.
While acknowledging the milestone as encouraging, he cautioned that course completions alone do not reflect whether participants have acquired the competence required to secure jobs, build digital products, or contribute meaningfully to innovation ecosystems.
“I am sure you have read that the 1MC programme has recorded over 12,000 course completions. Well, that’s encouraging, but the celebration must be measured,” he said.
“It shows public appetite for digital skills, coding and AI literacy. However, course completion is not the same as competence, employability, innovation capacity, or workforce transformation.”
Israel said the real test of the initiative should be whether beneficiaries are able to apply their skills in practical settings, including software development, entrepreneurship, problem-solving in the public sector, and participation in global digital markets.
He argued that policymakers must go beyond enrolment data and publish broader performance indicators such as job placement rates, project outputs, assessment results, startup creation, and post-training income outcomes.
“The real policy question is simple: what exactly have these learners become capable of doing?” he asked.
“Without these deeper indicators, the country risks producing impressive dashboards but shallow capability.”
The One Million Coders programme was introduced to train young Ghanaians in software development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital entrepreneurship as part of a broader push to position Ghana as a regional technology hub.
Israel also called for stronger monitoring frameworks that track gender inclusion, regional participation, disability access and long-term economic impact, stressing that digital training should translate into measurable national productivity gains.
Beyond training concerns, he warned of possible policy inconsistencies that could undermine the benefits of the programme, particularly if regulatory frameworks become overly restrictive for tech practitioners and startups.
He cautioned that excessive regulation could limit opportunities for young developers, freelancers and entrepreneurs who are expected to drive innovation in the sector.
“Ghana cannot train young people to code with one hand and then regulate them out of the market with the other,” he said.
Israel recommended a risk-based regulatory approach that distinguishes between low-risk developers and high-risk operators in areas such as critical infrastructure and cybersecurity.
He stressed that effective digital transformation requires a balanced system of training, certification and proportionate regulation that encourages innovation while safeguarding national security.
“The right posture is clear: train broadly, assess credibly, certify meaningfully, regulate proportionately, and license only where risk justifies it,” he said.
He concluded that the long-term success of the programme will depend on its ability to produce a skilled workforce capable of driving Ghana’s ambitions in software development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the wider digital economy.
