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The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, over the weekend, held a signed off ceremony for the digital job creation training in 12 states across the country’s six 6 geopolitical zones.
The training which commenced on the 8th of March, 2021 was coordinated by the ministry.
According to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the training is part of the initiatives to ensure that Nigerians have the adequate digital access and pre-requisite IT literacy skills required to create digital jobs that can drive country’s digital economy.
The beneficiary states include: Nasarawa and Kogi (North-Central), Imo and Enugu (South-East), Katsina and Jigawa (North-West), Oyo and Ogun (South-West), Borno and Taraba (North-East) and, Edo and Delta (South-South).
The capacity building programme is in line with “the Digital Nigeria Programme launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 19th of March 2020 and the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) of the federal government, which aims to enable Nigerians to respond robustly and appropriately to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and propose clear-cut strategies to keep existing jobs and create opportunities for new ones,” said Pantami at the virtual closing ceremony.
He said the “Digital Job Creation Programme also aligns with several pillars of the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria, including Pillar No.2 on Digital Literacy and Skills.
“This Pillar recognises the fact that citizens are the greatest assets in the digital economy and it supports the development of a large pool of digitally literate and digitally skilled citizens. The ministry is championing a paradigm shift that lays an emphasis on skills, in preference to merely having degrees without skills, since degrees are meant to validate skills.”
The participants were provided with laptops and some stipend in addition to the digital skills acquired during the training. They will also be provided with a modem with 1year broadband subscription.
Pantami urged participants to take “the opportunity given to them with all seriousness and ensure that they make good use of the knowledge and tools that have been provided to create jobs for themselves and others in various sectors of the economy.
“He also encouraged them to take advantage of the mentorship opportunities that will be made available and to commit to continuous acquisition of skills,” according to a statement by the minister’s spokesperson, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman.
