FG Moves To Develop Capacity Of Nigerians On Creative Technology
The Federal Government has said it would embark on several initiatives aimed at upskilling and reskilling Nigerians in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).
The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the creative technology programme in a statement by the Head Corporate Affairs Mrs Hadiza Umar on Wednesday.
Inuwa who was represented by Dr. Salihu Abdulkarim said, the Programme was aimed at developing and retaining talents in Nigeria on 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 would boost the economic potential of all participants.
He stated that the Agency was making tremendous efforts in pursuing a robust and all-inclusive talents development agenda that would create a competitive environment for the development and production of IT goods and services in the country,
He added 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 was very important for Nigerian to build its talent from within because the nation was 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.
Inuwa informed the participants that their “work has just begun,” adding that bringing the participants together is very important to the growth Nigeria seeks in promoting the Africa’s narrative in content creation.
“We see you all as creative technology ambassadors who will contribute positively to the Nigerian economy and build business opportunities within your sector.
“It is time to implement and we believe that you are all interested in bridging the creative technology skill gap,” he said.
While expressing his appreciation to the organiser of the capacity building, Ascend Studios Foundation for partnering with NITDA on the “crucial project of skilling and upskilling Nigerians with the trending digital skill,”
The NITDA’s boss enjoined the participants to ensure that they judiciously utilise the knowledge acquired and pledged that NITDA would continue to “support them in any best possible ways.”
30 participants were successfully trained in the first phase of the programme and they are expected to train another 3,000 participants across the country.
