By Florence Onuegbu
Lagos, – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says collaboration is essential to boost local content in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.
The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta made this known during the ICT Community Roundtable, organised by the Association of Information Communication Technology Local Content (ICTLOCA) on Wednesday in Lagos.
The theme of the roundtable is: “ICT Local Content: Dissecting Challenges and Proffering Solutions’’.
Represented by the Lagos Zonal Controller of NCC, Henry Ojiokpota, Danbatta said that there was the need for stakeholders to work together to build the requisite skills that could boost local content.
He said that there was the need to collaborate with tertiary institutions and the National Universities Commission (NUC) and look at contents the institutions had in the areas of ICT.
According to him, the ICT industry needs to have a database of both formal and informal ICT skills across the country.
He said that such database would ensure that skills required in a particular area were easily accessed.
“We want to see how we can bring those people together under one roof, so that they can be able to speak with one voice.
“Most importantly for us is having the data of all ICT skills available in the country, that will help people to be able to compete globally for jobs in other climes and also within Nigeria.
“If Nigerians have the requisite skills, companies will not give their jobs to foreigners.
“You don’t expect an employer to employ workers and then begin to train them all over again. The time is not there.
“So if the skill that is required to take over the industry is not there, the problem of local content will continue.
“We need to build up a database of ICT skills across the country, both formal and informal ICT skills and also collaborate,’’ he said.
Danbatta said that NCC was bridging the skill gap by training people through the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), to help them to be able to compete for job in the oil and gas sector.
He said that the commission was funding research proposals on ICT in universities across the six geopolitical zones, aimed at instilling local content.
“We found out that people have excellent project proposals but with funding of those research proposals it can really help them to be able to bring those proposals forward and solve practical human problems,’’ Danbatta said.
