The proposal to train three million Nigerians over four years is capable of increasing Nigeria’s pool of technically-skilled persons in the global market leading to potential employers of digital and technical skills in the international scene to begin to engage more Nigerians.
This is the position of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, while applauding the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani for the prosal, which has already attracted 1 million applicants.
While speaking in Lagos at the City Business News Summit on the theme ‘Repositioning Nigerian Economy through Telecommunications: 2023 and Beyond’, the NCC noted that the idea will make Nigeria an exporter of digital skills.
“This programme, which has commenced already with over 1 million applications by potential trainees, is expected to increase the level of digital and technical skills among Nigerians, especially young and middle-level talents, to 70 percent by the end of 2027. This will position Nigerians to productively contribute to the economy and place us in the top 25 percentile of research globally in the key areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), IoT, Robotics, Blockchain, and Additive Manufacturing in keeping with the strategic plan unveiled by the Honourable Minister,” he said.
Represented by the Commission’s Director of Research and Development, Ismail Adedigba, Dr. Maida added that, in recognition of the rapid pace of technological advancement that is disrupting industries across the globe, Nigeria’s vision is rooted in the belief that embracing this disruption and fostering innovation will propel the nation toward sustainable growth, economic diversification, and enhanced living standards for all Nigerians.
He stated that the vision is to accelerate the growth of Nigeria as a global technical talent hub and a net exporter of talent; to deepen and accelerate our position in global research in key technology areas and raise the complexity and dynamics of our economy by significantly increasing the level of digital literacy across Nigeria. In this regard, the Minister is looking to create a pipeline of three million technical talents.