Senegal Launches National Training Plan to Adapt Its Administration to the Digital Age

• Senegal validated a National Digital Training Plan on Thursday, September 10, to help state employees adapt their working practices as the administration digitizes.
• The plan sets a common framework with content tailored to different jobs and responsibility levels, covering digital tools, data management, information systems, AI and cybersecurity, rather than training all civil servants uniformly.
• It targets the gap between deploying digital tools and administrations’ ability to use them effectively, with results measured through acquired skills, certifications and effects on public service quality.

As Senegal accelerates the digitization of its administration, the question of employees’ skills is becoming an important part of this transformation. The country validated, on Thursday, September 10, a National Digital Training Plan designed to support state employees as their professional practices evolve.

The plan should establish a common framework for the digital training of public employees, with content tailored to different jobs and levels of responsibility. It is therefore not about training all civil servants uniformly, but about defining the skills needed according to the missions carried out. The identified areas cover notably the use of digital tools, data management, information systems, digital public services, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The system should also incorporate the new working methods tied to the digitization of administrative procedures.

The initiative comes as Senegal rolls out its technological New Deal, launched in February 2025 to accelerate the digitization of public services. The strategy provides notably for strengthening employees’ skills and developing a digital culture within the administration. In March 2026, the government further launched seven structuring projects meant to form the main building blocks of the country’s digital public infrastructure.

The new plan thus seeks to address a problem that can limit the effects of this transformation: the gap between the deployment of tools and administrations’ capacity to use them effectively. The government wants in particular to assess results based on the skills actually acquired, the certifications obtained and the effect of the training on the quality of public service. This approach should help support the digitization of procedures without confining the effort to infrastructure and platforms.

Samira Njoya