‘How investment in training can curb unemployment, drive digital economy’

Technology firms have called for more investment in training youths on technology in order to develop solutions that are relevant to the local and global market, as well as drive a digital economy in Nigeria.

The call was made at the Appfactory graduation ceremony, an initiative of Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited and Microsoft Africa, geared towards equipping Africans with the right tools, knowledge and resources to foster solutions development through technology.The Managing Director, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited, Chijioke Eke, said technology has disabled some activities, as several industries have suffered from the introduction of disruptive technology.

He said young innovators are the drivers of the digital economy Nigeria seek to develop, noting that while the country’s local content policy is primarily geared towards the oil and gas industry, the previous year’s revenue derived by the government was from the information and communication technology sector, which contributed about 13.5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

He said: “These young innovators are here to play disruptive role; how to change the narrative and take what we do to the next level. Creativity comes from disruption in thought process and revenue generation also comes from disrupting the market.”We are committed to raising world class solutions development experts that will make work smarter and life better while leveraging the array of cutting-edge tools available. It gives us pleasure to groom this young selected group of software developers and information technology experts to be part of Nigeria’s sure-footed steps on the digital transformation journey.

“We shall continue to contribute to the development of our nation and the sub-Saharan region at large, as well as pass the torch to this young generation who will play significant roles in leading us into the future.”Also speaking, the Head Strategic Partnership, Microsoft Africa, Soromfe Uzoma said: “We have seen that there is a digital skills gap in the Continent with about 10 to 12 million youths joining the workforce every year, the challenge is that if we don’t address that gap we would create problems in the future.”

He said because the world is undergoing disruption, the 15 graduands, who have been selected from various universities in Nigeria are empowered with technological skills to build solutions and bridge the data gap in Africa, adding that they will not suffer unemployment, but would rather create employment for other youths.

“We jointly invest and enrol some of the brightest graduates from our universities and take them on a nine-month intensive training to develop and sharpen their skills in various aspects of software development.Uzoma, however, called for collaborative efforts of the government and corporate organisations in equipping the youths in technology skills, as it would also help curb unemployment in the country.