The Ministry Communication Technology is to train 800 youths in each of the 36 states, on Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Mrs Omobola Johnson
The Minister, Mrs Omobola Johnson, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Lagos at a meeting with the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce.
Johnson said that the training, to begin soon, was initiated by the ministry under its Naijacloud programme.
She said that about 28,000 youths nationwide would be trained under the programme.
The Naijacloud initiative was inaugurated in March, 2013, to create jobs in micro work, e-lancing and programming.
“Naijacloud has trained up to 2,000 potential IT professionals in Lagos and Abuja under various platforms.
“After three weeks, they started earning money; now, we are moving to train 800 youths in each of the states.
“The number might look small, but it is attracting attention of the western world — Europe, and others.
“The U.S. is willing to partner with us. It has asked us to provide 10 per cent of our best hands for further training, where they can be equipped to earn up to $40 to $50 per day,” she said.
Johnson reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to providing enabling environment for operations of IT professionals by encouraging patronage of local products and building local applications.
“More than any other sector, the ICT has provided millions of jobs to Nigerian youths.
“E-commerce has provided many jobs; examples are Jumia, Konga, Paga.
“ICT is being used virtually in all the sectors of life and has been creating millions of jobs,” she said.
The President of the chamber, Prince Yemi Adefulu, said that the meeting was to discuss policies and programmes on ICT, and chart the way forward.
