The Federal government of Nigeria is looking to train about 29,600 unemployed youths on digital job opportunities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The scheme, conceived by the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, is to be implemented in collabo-ration with the state governments where 800 unemployed from each state shall be provided with digital empowerment.
At the 2014 National Council of Communication Technology (NCCT) meeting a decision was made that each state provide a suitable venue with 250 sitting capacity and nominate 800 unemployed youths for the workshop for training of prospective job seekers on digital job opportunities.
Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson, Efem Nkanga, said of the scheme: “Already, the scheme has started in Bayelsa and it is expected that after the training of 800 youth in that state, other states will follow, depending on their readiness to provide the facilities needed to implement the project.”
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says that the current youth unemployment rate at over 25 percent.
Nkanga further said said that after the successful launch of the NaijaCloud initiative in Lagos last year by the Minister of Communication Technology, the minister had made the job-creation initiative a priority of the ministry.
The Lagos launch was done in partnership with the World Bank through the STEP-B project of the Federal Ministry of Education. “As part of the project, a Microwork for Workers workshop was held to educate and train participants on how to create a user profile and manage their accounts on the various Microwork & E-lancing platforms.
Immediate results have been recorded as over 10,000 Nigerians are now earning money on this platform. Nkanga noted that the Rockefeller Foundation was impressed by the ministry’s NaijaCloud initiative and is partnering with it in an attempt to deepen the effect of online job creation and leverage the success of the Lagos launch to hold a workshop in every state of the federation to enable unemployed youths to access online work called Microwork.
