In a significant move, the Federal Government is preparing to open applications for its ambitious digital skill empowerment program, which aims to benefit three million Nigerians. The announcement was made by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, during a fireside conversation at Moonshot by TechCabal.
Dr. Tijani revealed that the program’s applications would be open for both trainers and individuals seeking to acquire technical skills. The initial phase of the initiative is set to target 30,000 Nigerians.
He stated, “Starting from this Friday, you will see applications being released for both trainers and those who want to be fellows.”
Dr. Tijani previously outlined a comprehensive plan to equip three million Nigerians with tech skills over the next four years. He emphasized the government’s unwavering commitment to talent development and its ambitious goal of training three million early to mid-career technical talents.
Highlighting the success of organizations like Andela in Nigeria, the minister expressed confidence in the feasibility of his plan. He explained that the approach would involve starting with a small percentage of the total target and then gradually expanding.
He clarified, “The model will be that we are starting with one percent of our 3 million target, and that is going to run for the first three months. That one percent is going to be 30,000 people. It sounds like a lot. But one thing we’ve also done is, if you take the 36 states of the country and you break down that 30,000…”