The Federal Government of Nigeria and Global ICT Company, Huawei, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to kick-start the second phase of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) for Change Programme which will see 1000 Federal Civil Servants get trained and empowered with ICT skills.
Technology is evolving globally and now controls every aspects of governance; hence, there has been an ever growing need for technology professionals in different sectors of the economy. This has led to an increased demand for ICT skilled Nigerians who are required to steer the industry forward to meet up with the ever increasing demand of the emerging digital economy.
According to the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Dr isa Pantami, implementation of ICT projects in government has become difficult because most civil servants in the country lack technology skills and are not digitally inclined.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Vice President, Huawei Technologies, Xue Man, said a study from Huawei and Oxford Economics, showed that over the past three decades, every one USD invested in digital technologies has led to 20 USD rise in GPD. He added that as a global leading ICT company, Huawei would be willing to work together with all stakeholders to bring digital transformation to every person, every home and every organisation in Nigeria.
“The government sector is one of the industries most influenced by ICT technology. We hope that by working together with the federal government, the ICT for Change Initiative will help to equip civil servants with the necessary knowledge to face this great digital transformation. He added”.
In his remark, Secretary of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, stated that “The ICT for Change Programme is in alignment with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (2017-2020) to enhance the capacities and capabilities of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) performance and delivery systems. In this regard, the Programme supports in the area of automation of processes and bureaucratic procedures to make them more efficient by implementing an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution”.
Also speaking, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, applauded the synergy between Huawei and the Federal Government, expressing optimism that the ICT training under the company’s CSR will go a long way to achieve the 2017-2020 civil service strategic reforms on capacity development and technological know-how.
The first phase of the initiative saw 2000 youth get trained. In this second phase, 1000 Nigerian Civil Servants will receive a One-week training starting from the end of this year.
Over the years, Huawei has been investing in ICT up skilling and capacity building in an effort to boost employment; development of knowledge-intensive products and services; and enhance the ICT skills of the future generations.
Other schemes implemented and supported by the tech giant include Growing Girls and Women in Nigeria (G-Win）, 1000 Girls in Training, scholarship for The African University of Science and Technology (AUST), engineers training programmes, and Seeds for the Future which is designed to bridge the gap between ICT instruction at universities and the practical knowledge and skills needed in the workplace.
Before now, the Federal Government of Nigeria had also signed various pacts, agreements, MoUs, partnership deals and many more with tech companies to train various categories of Nigerians.
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