As part of its plans to help more people in Africa prepare for jobs of the future through community-focused programs, Google Nigeria has announced the launch of the Google Digital Skills for Africa program in Aba and other local communities in Abia State.
Google’s Digital Skills for Africa program offers training courses to help individuals and communities develop and grow digital skills, find jobs and advance in their careers.The program provides free online courses, tools, and in-person digital training to students, educators, job seekers and businesses.
In 2017, Google announced its plans to reach 10 million Africans and between 2016 to 2019, a total of over 3m people have now acquired different levels of digital skills in 29 countries across Africa via face-to-face training as well as through the online platform – g.co/digitalskills which is available in English, French and Portuguese.
Representing Governor Okezie Ikpeazu at the Google Digital Skills for Africa launch in Aba, the secretary to the state government, Barrister Chris Ezem said, “The Government of Abia State is excited to have Google introduce the Digital Skills Training to the business community and local manufacturers in Aba, that that will drive business expansion, help to increase sales and create employment opportunities in Abia State.”
Ezem further said that, “The world is now a global place as a result of information technology and Abia through this training by Google will be able to key into the digital narrative, giving Aba, the commercial hub in Nigeria, the needed visibility.”
The President, Association of Tailors and Fashion Designers in Abia State, Onyebuchi Nwigwe said, “The association is opened to receive the training from Google because they know that as fashion designers and tailors they will be able to properly compete with their counterparts across the world after they have adopted and introduced the digital skills to their business models.”
The Digital Skills for Africa programme is designed to address the skills needs of jobseekers and small business owners, and has to date been rolled out in roughly 100 communities across a number of countries including Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. By engaging directly with the communities that can most benefit from the training, Google is able to identify the specific needs of these communities, support their local growth activities and ensure the impact is felt not just on an individual but also at a community level.
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