By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Director General/Chief Executive Officer of National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), Dr. Olusola Odunsanya has hinted that NACETEM Academy has arrayed a growing and significant bouquet of self-paced international skills certification courses that would help over 25million youths to excel in a digital economy which promises to be Nigeria’s new oil.
Dr. Odunsanya disclosed this on Monday 11 March in his welcome address on the NACETEM day at the 2024 Techno- Expo held in Abuja.
According to the DG, the NACETEM Academy will provide Nigeria with an Innovation Finishing School for both public and private sectors of the national economy.
He noted that a total of 215 million active subscribers are on Nigeria’s GSM network. Among these are over 25 million youths who need to boost their career, by acquiring new skills, improve their career progression, job mobility and international competitiveness! This is the biggest school in Nigeria and the numbers are growing, he said.
This captive population is young, English educated, and hungry for technology and consume technology rapidly but require a higher degree of digital literacy.
The industrial growth and technological advancement of Nigeria is imminent and inevitable. Skilled workers ready for the future of work from Day One will be in high demand! Therefore, the rate at which Nigeria will need to produce these individuals would need to be rapid and efficient and intentional! .
In his words, “Tech Advantage is another initiative that has digitized the indigenous “Igbo apprenticeship” scheme as well as Lagos GSM village knowledge transfer models to massify the value of its job creativity through the use of ICT to increase the deliverables of the schemes and increase its reach within the general Nigerian populace!
As the software component of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology (FMIST), NACETEM’s Mandate includes technology infusion, training of middle and high-level manpower in Science Technology and Innovation, Conducting STI Policy research, policy analysis and policy briefs to allow government take data driven decisions, establish and run databases on STI, providing access to other STI databanks and collaborate with other countries on STI developments among others.
In realization of this mandate, the need to use transformative technologies is pertinent! Annually, NACETEM will focus on a few sectors of the national economy and bring its mandate to bear in order to engage and achieve distinguishing economic value in that sector using the best approaches of STI governance.
He reiterated that this year alone, NACETEM is focusing on the Marine and Blue economy and ICT digital literacy and digital citizenship!
Adding that the Federal Government of Nigeria created the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue economy in realization of the huge potential of this economy!
“Nigeria is a category C country in the global Maritime industry ranking! This positions Nigeria to generate a skilled workforce using enabling transformative technologies. Among the training opportunities being developed on the NACETEM Academy are training and certification for new generation Skippers, 2nd Engineers, mariners and boat builders, he said.
“Commercial opportunities are being married with social business strategies to create a skilled workforce that would exploit the huge potentials of the marine and blue economy! Glass-fibre, Aluminum and metal/ceramic alloy materials are being deployed to boat construction in order to infuse the latest materials science & Engineering technologies to the tools enhancement and development sector of this marine economy.
“This is aimed at unleashing the potentials of this nascent economy! The science, technology and engineering required for tools development in the marine economy have been laid bare at the NACETEM booth to showcase and recruit the next generation professionals who will be trained within the context of gender inclusion in the foundations of another profitable economic sphere in Nigeria!
He urged the stakeholders to come and be part of the construction of a new Nigeria populated with skilled individuals whose skills are relevant to the socio-economic needs of Nigeria!
The DG tasked the youths to come and acquire new skills in a flexible arrangement where they will mainly need time and electronic data to thrive!
Putting it in his own words, the NACETEM DG said: “Come and participate in a brave New Nigeria which uses transformative STI to achieve global standards while solving local and regional challenges! Come and be a part of TechAdvantage Nigeria, NACETEM Academy, Boat building and fish-finding component of the marine and blue economy!
And be assured of global certification, accreditation and credibility”, he added.
