A large number of workers, mainly unskilled personnel employed in the construction sector, have gained significantly from the “Better Connections” programme of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), launched in 2014.
While the growth of the programme was modest in the first two years, it has been growing at a phenomenally faster rate in the last two years, according to the records made available by managers of the some of the major residential accommodations of the country’s workers.
Anywhere between 15,000 and 20,000 computers have been provided for the workers to enhance their digital awareness during the period, inquiries found.
And a majority of those computers were donated by students of the country’s schools.
“As a result, at least one or two labs are added to existing labs as each day passes,” said a volunteer who is part of a team training construction workers at an accommodation in the Labour City of Asian Town.
The authorities expect the number of the labs to rise to no less than 1,500 by the end of next year.
Some Asian workers told Gulf Times that the only digital equipment they could handle previously was their mobile phones to call home. “We are now using Internet almost every day, and audio-visual calls are made to our families on a daily basis, using the facilities at our labs.
Volunteers training unskilled workers at one of the accommodations in Asian Town’s Labour City. PICTURE: Ram Chand
