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Digital and ICT skills bequeath economic
advantage
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Nigeria, and indeed,
Africa’s ability to develop the youths’ digital skills will definitely bequeath
some economic powers, according to some information and communications
technology (ICT) experts.
The
Guardian Nigeria report continues:
The
experts who spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek on the backdrop of statistics
shared by World Bank, unanimously agreed that technology is the promise and
ultimately the final hope for Africa’s youth.
According
to the World Bank, 11 million youths enter the African labour market every year
over the next decade.
Mr.
Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, CEO, InfoGraphics, said, “Africa will indeed be the
youngest continent on the planet between 2030 and 2050 depending on whose data
you use. Between 2017 and then, the continent will either fracture or surge. If
the latter, it will be wrenched violently apart by the uncontainable forces of
food insecurity, plunging health, social dislocation, rural to urban surges,
functional illiteracy and a dysfunctional education system, an expanding
digital divide and negative technology penetration, crime/cybercrime and other
vices.
“Any
African of working age (18-65) is challenged by the same things his
counterparts the world over are: relevant skills/competencies and opportunities
for self-actualization.
He
said that the 21st century of the age of the entrepreneur – Africa’s youth will
enter the workforce earlier as both employee and employer, they will work in
diverse sectors in different functions for much longer than any generation
preceding them.
“The
key to this is to empower them with capacity – knowledge, tools and competence
– to create economic value for themselves and the community in which they live.
Every aspect of their lives will be mediated through technology and digital
literacy and fluency will be the critical determinant in their self-actualization”.
Mr.
Olaniyi Alao, president and CEO of Web4Africa, spoke on how to fast track
digital skills development in Nigeria, and urged the authorities, Federal and
State Ministries of Education, to ensure that even more institutions offer
IT-related skills as part of their degree and diploma courses.
“Of
course, every secondary school student needs to deliberately acquire some IT
skills during their free time. Social networking activities from smartphones
are hardly usable skills unless one is a celebrity.
On
his part, Mr. Celestine Achi, founder of DigitalPRWire, believes the African
proverb that says, “He that must lead the orchestra, must learn to back the
crowd. To Fast track digital skills, emphasis must be placed on collaborative
learnings, partnerships and startups support. The future success of Nigeria’s
youth depends on their ability to understand and use technology effectively”,
he said.
Sidmach Backs SCCI
Computer ‘Hands-On’ Experience For Pupils
The
Guardian Nigeria reports that the Initiative seeks to ensure school pupils’
acquisition of computer skills, exposure to a real IT world through seminar,
workshops, and exhibitions.
Speaking
to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek while leading students on tour of Sidmach’s
software lab, as part of activities to mark SCCI’s tenth anniversary, Mr.
Adesina Adewale, the president, said that they are keen to ‘impose’
professional responsibilities on school IT team leaders, build self-esteem for
members, and motivate young growing children to embrace the appropriate use of
the computer.
Adewale
said that the big picture behind SCCI was to develop technology innovators
‘Technnovators’ who will eventually become technology entrepreneurs, developing
solutions to solve the nation’s multifaceted challenges.
He
said, “We hear about the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, and
other technnovators who today are big entrepreneurs. Today, Microsoft, for
example has become a household name world over; people are using the products
of Microsoft daily, ranging from the development of animation, games, office
allocation to the point of using thee cloud. “It is part of reasons we brought
the students on tour of Sidmach Technologies.
So,
we are passionate about ‘catching them young’, right from primary and secondary
schools, such that on graduation they don’t keep hoping on a non-existing white
collar job. They are been positioned to develop the entrepreneurial mindset.
Adewale
added that SCCI’s activities in the last 10 years were mainly on developing
students in primary and secondary schools to the point many of them are
interested in taking up careers in IT. “We have some who have passed through
Sidmach Technologies either during industrial training/ attachment or
internship programmes. We have some of them who can develop games, others-
animations; we have others who can develop browsers and other solutions that
can meet the need of the society.
“Following
our activities in the last 10 years, we are hopeful that technnovators and
techpreneurs will be developed from these students. Invariably, we are reducing
the problem of unemployment in the country. We are hopeful that these students
will be able to meet the needs of our communities,” he added.
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