The Benue State government has commenced training for 10,000 youths in various digital sectors involving Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in a bid to generate 50,000 jobs in digital economy.
The training through the Benue government digital skills initiative, also known as Benue Tech Skills, was put in place to serve as a fundamental shift in the state’s approach to economic growth, youth empowerment, and employment generation in the ICT sector.
Lead Consultant, Technical Skills Initiative, Jeffrey Udende, told journalists in Makurdi that all Benue youths with potentials would be given an opportunity in the scheme to increase their job potentials.
“We are in a digital economy. What the government is doing is not just training people but those who have done this successfully and have no job will be given employment.
“We are training 10,000 youths physically and online. We created the online classroom because of those who applied and went for NYSC. The good thing about the training is that the jobs are hanging. This is the first government in Nigeria training 10,000 youths at once on digital ICT.
“Google is our training partner. We are looking at exporting talents before the end of the six months training period. All of them that understand this will get a job,” Udende said.
Also, the Training Consultant, Attah Samson Igoche, noted that the initiative evolved by the state government would help to get youths to start developing locally and to promote them for the global economy while improving their livelihood.
Igoche added, “We are doing several courses. We’re working with Google and others. We’re also using Google classroom so that people will be able to join. The training is at self-pace. Government will also link them with jobs. It has been a very wonderful experience.”
One of the participants, John Elor, intimated that the training started three weeks ago with a one-week orientation and they were already doing Cyber security Module 1.
“Cyber security has a lot of global demand. We are in a digital world and need to be conscious. There are lots of opportunities in cyber security. Those trained will be given the opportunity to work,” Elor posited.
Meanwhile, the programme aims to create over 50,000 jobs by empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds with essential digital skills including coding, data and advanced analytics, design, digital marketing, e-commerce, and smartphone videography, amongst others.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
