Nigeria bets on 32,000 digital workers with a new government-run academy 💻🇳🇬

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Nigeria’s federal government has launched the Digital Training Academy (DTA), a six-month program meant to give 32,000 Nigerians digital skills suited to the international job market. The stated goal: open doors to employment, entrepreneurship and the global digital economy.

A training push in high-demand digital jobs 🚀💻

The Federal Ministry of Education is running the initiative under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), through its Nigeria Education Digital Infrastructure (NEDI) program. The DTA is meant to help close the country’s digital skills gap.

At the launch in Abuja, Education Minister Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa said 72,850 applications had been registered across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where Abuja sits. Of those, 19,699 met the admission criteria. For the first cohort, 16,000 candidates were ultimately selected, half of the announced target of 32,000.

Software, AI, cybersecurity and cloud on the syllabus 🤖🔐☁️

Participants will train in several fields described as being in strong demand. The program is set to cover software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning, along with cloud computing, IT automation, natural language processing and quantum computing. Graduates would be able to build skills across different parts of the digital economy.

To round this out, they will get access to international online learning platforms such as Coursera and Pluralsight. They will also be able to prepare for certifications recognized by tech companies including Google, IBM and Huawei.

Equipment and support for participants 🖥️🌐

The government also plans to provide hardware and infrastructure. Participants are expected to have access to computers, an internet connection and access centers, with trainers and mentors supporting them throughout the program. Partnerships with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), a distance-learning university, and the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), a Lagos-based institution, are also expected to help support them.

Beyond headcount, the Ministry of Education says it intends to track what happens after the training: certifications earned, jobs obtained and businesses created. The idea is to measure how far digital skills actually translate into concrete economic opportunities.

Through the DTA, the federal government is placing digital skills at the center of its plan to prepare young Nigerians for the global labor market. It also wants to strengthen Nigeria’s role in the global digital economy.

Can digital skills training really improve young Nigerians’ access to jobs and entrepreneurship? Let us know what you think in the comments. 🤔