According to a report by Modis, there will be a 12% growth in technology employment opportunities by 2024, this growth will create an increase in demand for the technology professionals with the right skill set to fill available positions in the tech sector.
The proliferation of technology is also making more jobs go into extinction and creating a massive skill gap in Nigeria labour market. On the basis of this growing concern, Edufirst NG has signed a $1 million MoU with Jobminders incorporated, a Canadian based company to address the skill deficit by providing a structured platform that supports the development of future relevant skills in terms of capacity building and value addition to young people in Nigeria.
The partnership will cover IT skills acquisition and certification in areas like cyber-security knowledge management, software development life cycle management, IT project management, Robotics process automation , artificial intelligence, outcome based orientation and basic computer skills acquisition.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, Moses Imayi, project director of Edufirst NG maintained that for Nigerian graduate to remain globally competitive there is an urgent need to bridge the gap between the current educational curriculum and the globally recognized skill set, this partnership is a bold step aimed at filling that gap by contributing to the knowledge economy which will drive growth and create employment opportunities for graduates in Nigeria and the world over.
Charles Osazuwa, Vice president of Jobminders Incorporated stated that the company has over the years remained commited to providing and enhancing skills set aimed at improving capacity in accounting and finance, information technology, engineering, industrial and skilled trade and health care. He asserted that training offices are being set up and an on-going development of an online virtual platform and mobile app tagged ‘Edufirst Tek Classes’ with a standardized curricular inclusive of digital skill training program which will accommodate training programs for fresh graduates, top level management and executives on core managerial skills.
The partnership between the two firms will run for five years and is expected to re-position the scope of Nigerian graduates, expose them to relevant market needs at an early stage and by extension making them globally competitive.