Traditional postal services face a looming challenge from the rapid advancement of digital technologies. To remain relevant in today's context, postal operators are undertaking efforts to modernize their services. To ensure the success of these modernization endeavors, they not only require effective methodologies but also need to enhance the skills of their workforce.

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) will establish a regional training school in Egypt, according to an agreement signed with the Egyptian Post in Berne (Switzerland) last Thursday. The training school will provide professional training to civil servants and postal staff from Africa and Arab countries.

"The agreement supports the UPU's technical cooperation activities aimed at developing human resources in its member countries. It will lead to the organization of professional training for civil servants and postal staff," noted the UPU.

The professionals trained by the center will help the two regions meet the challenges faced by the postal sector, notably the digitalization of postal services.  Indeed, with the rapid adoption of digital technologies, postal operators need to adapt to survive. Egypt is one of the African pioneers of digital postal service. It launched the digitalization of its postal sector in September 2019.  

The school adds to the network of training institutions established by the UPU to advance the modernization of postal services. According to the UN agency, these regional training centers are educational platforms, which equip postal professionals with upgraded skills to master procurement product development, e-commerce, postal security, and international compensation techniques among others.

Vanessa Ngono Atangana