During a meeting on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja with officials from Google, Nigeria Vice President Kashim Shettima praised the company for its promise of a grant of N1.2 billion to the one million employment project that is being spearheaded by President Tinubu government. According to the Vice President, this grant provided by the company that would support the present administration’s digital jobs strategy is laudable and deserving of other businesses modelling themselves after such.
Let’s generate additional job opportunities by thinking creatively and outside the box. The nation needs to put its words into action. It is simple to say, but putting all of the principles into practice is quite challenging. He wants to reassure them that this government is eager to collaborate with them in whatever way they see fit. The country of Nigeria is now open for business. The current President of Nigeria has expressed a desire to create a lasting legacy of which future generations of Nigerians can be proud, according to Shettima.
Nigeria should leverage its enormous youth population.
In addition to this, the Vice President stated that Nigeria possesses a one-of-a-kind opportunity to capitalise on the potential of its enormous youth population in order to generate millions of employment in the digital industry. There are more people who can speak English in this country than in many other countries in Africa and abroad. The country did not enter the agricultural age, it did not enter the industrial age, and it has now entered the post-industrial age, which is driven by knowledge.
He explained that the nation possesses the capability as well as a rare chance to fill the skill gap that is expected to exist globally. Similarly, Access Bank is making significant efforts in the area of digital skills and is training one thousand young people in this area in order to expand employment chances. They have also teamed up with a number of institutions, including Wema Bank and the Bank of Industry. For the benefit of the country, he said, they are eager to collaborate with Google.
More than 20,000 young people will be provided with digital skills.
Director of Google West Africa branch, Olumide Balogun, acknowledged the company’s enthusiasm for the Tinubu administration’s plan to generate one million digital jobs. The international technology giant has committed more than N1.2 billion in funding to support the programme, which has the objective of providing more than 20,000 young people with digital skills. This promise also includes assistance for new businesses, which will result in the creation of thousands of jobs within the industry.
Furthermore, Charles Murito, who serves as Google Africa’s Director of Government Relations and Public Policy, emphasised the significance of financial investments made in the African digital infrastructure. He highlighted the relevance of Nigeria in realising Google’s goals and vision, and he emphasised the role that digital transformation plays in the process of creating technology jobs that are specifically targeted. If it does not successfully cover Nigeria, Google will not be able to realise its vision or accomplish its goals, as he stated.
DSN and the Creative Industry Initiative support the initiatives.
Lastly, the project by Google is in line with President Tinubu’s aim to foster the development of a workforce that is proficient in digital technologies. Nigerian women and young people will receive training in digital skills as part of this effort, which primarily focuses on the creation of one million digital employment. The philanthropic branch of Google, “Mind the Gap,” is working with the likes of Data Science Nigeria and the Creative Industry Initiative for Africa to form this collaboration.
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