To tackle unemployment and boost economic growth, the Federal Government has announced plans to launch a digital skill training programme, designed to empower university graduates and final-year students with in-demand skills in Nigeria and across the globe.
The initiative, which is scheduled to launch in June, will provide training in highly sought-after digital skills such as software development, cybersecurity, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.
Speaking during a ministerial press briefing held at Abuja on Thursday, the Minister for Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed that this training is part of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope Agenda to bridge the skills gap and boost economic growth.
According to Alausa, this training programme will be conducted in partnership with certified trainers and institutions, who will provide hands-on training to the participants for six months.
As part of this effort, the minister noted that the government will sponsor the entire training program, covering all expense including internet services, computer devices, and certification fees.
” We will be launching a student agenda for students who have just graduated from tertiary schools or final year students, where we have digital training to train them with skills that they need that they can service industries here in Nigeria or anywhere in the world.
“Today, based on UNESCO data, there are about 688,000 vacancies in software development, about 280,000 vacancies in proactive security, about 168,000 vacancies in IT automation and 160,000 vacancies, in national language processing, we have almost 2,000,000 job vacancies out there”
“What we’re doing at the Digital Training Academy is empowering young Nigerians with the skills they need to succeed. We’re partnering with trainers to offer a comprehensive 6-month training program, and as a government, we’re committed to supporting our citizens every step of the way. We’ll cover the cost of internet services, provide computers or contract with reputable CBT centers, and even sponsor their certification. Our goal is to equip these young individuals with the expertise required to thrive in today’s digital landscape.”
“once they get this certification they can sit down here in Nigeria and apply for a job anywhere in the world serving a company in Singapore, London, Germany, India, and China and they will get paid the same 6time $8,000, $4,000 a month that is not bad so that is the strategy that we want to use to move a lot of our young people to give them digital skills that they need to service the world” he said.
