FG Selects 16,000 Nigerians for Digital Skills Training

The Federal Government has selected 16,000 Nigerians for the inaugural cohort of its newly launched Digital Training Academy (DTA), a six-month programme aimed at equipping citizens with globally relevant digital skills and professional certifications.

The Federal Ministry of Education said the academy is designed to train a total of 32,000 Nigerians, providing participants with pathways to employment, entrepreneurship and participation in the global digital economy.

Speaking at the launch of the programme in Abuja on Monday, Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, said the initiative attracted 72,850 applications from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the minister, 19,699 applicants met the entry requirements, from which 16,000 beneficiaries were selected for the first cohort.

The Digital Training Academy is being implemented under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), through the Nigeria Education Digital Infrastructure (NEDI) programme, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The training will focus on high-demand areas of the global digital economy, including software development, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, cloud computing, IT automation, Natural Language Processing and quantum computing.

Participants will also have access to international learning platforms such as Coursera and Pluralsight, while pursuing recognised professional certifications from technology companies and organisations including Google, IBM and Huawei.

The Federal Government said it would provide computers, internet connectivity, access centres, facilitators and mentors to support the beneficiaries throughout the programme.

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).

The Ministry said it would monitor participants’ certification, employment and enterprise outcomes to establish a measurable link between digital skills acquisition and productive economic opportunities.

The programme is expected to contribute to efforts to close Nigeria’s digital skills gap while positioning more Nigerians to compete for opportunities in the increasingly global digital economy.