The Nigerian government has explained why it decided to embark on several initiatives aimed at upskilling and reskilling Nigerians across all walks of life.
The government, while speaking through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said the decision is in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and will provide massive employment opportunities through digital skills.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Creative Technology Programme, Phase 1 Training that focuses on business opportunities in Nigeria, Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of NITDA, explained the Creative Technology Programme is aimed at developing and retaining talents in Nigeria
Mal. Inuwa, who was represented by Dr Salihu Abdulkarim of NCAIR noted that promoting career skills and providing job opportunities among the beneficiaries with the goal of nurturing and upskilling Nigerians’ talents into viable career options; and create an ecosystem that will boost the economic potential of all participants.
Inuwa stated that the Agency is making tremendous efforts in pursuing a robust and all-inclusive talents development agenda that will create a competitive environment for the development and production of IT goods and services in the country, adding that the program would serve as mechanism for diversifying the nation’s revenue using digital economy.
He said, “The various capacity development programmes in our strategic plan have been designed to serve as a foundation for rapid development in all sectors, and we have built hundreds of digital capacity training centers and IT incubation Hubs across the nation to facilitate these programmes.”
Inuwa maintained that it is very important for Nigerian to build its talent from within because the nation is endowed with abundant talents.
“We have all we need to grow and compete with some of the biggest industries in the world. The retainment of talent within Nigeria can only happen if we all agree to stay here and build what we have. We have started building an ecosystem that will accommodate more people and help the development of a thriving community for tech talents in animation, games and AR within Nigeria,” he opined.