In its continued effort at maximising socio-economic opportunities and target of achieving 95% digital literacy penetration by the year 2030 in the country, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has engaged Multinationals and Private organisations to develop and co-create National Digital Skills Strategy (NDSS).

The NDSS is a policy document developed by NITDA under the directive of  Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, to bridge the digital skills gap in the country and develop a clear road map for the diversification of the nation’s economy and sustainability of its digital economy.

The engagement, which was held virtually, had representatives from International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), APPLE, HUAWEI, META, ORACLE, GOOGLE, CISCO Software Inc and many others.

While giving an insight into the genesis of the development of the NDSS during his remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, the NITDA Director General,  disclosed that the agency, in collaboration with the Co-Creation Hub, undertook research to understand existing talent and skills which later on birthed the first draft of the NDSS.

Inuwa stated that the NDSS will help re-position the country in alignment with global standards and to take full advantage of the digital economy benefits, while identifying Digital Literacy & Skills as a critical strategic pillar in the Agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021-2024 towards the implementation of the present administration’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

“In line with the digital literacy and skills pillar of NDEPS for a Digital Nigeria, NITDA has set out a target of 1 million developers and skills by December 2023 and thus, rolled out several capacity buildings programmes that are targeted at people from different sectors of the economy’, he noted.

The NITDA DG added that many of the capacity-building programmes were conducted in collaboration with professional ICT bodies, international corporations, and non-governmental organisations to provide stronger support for reskilling and upskilling for at-risk or displaced workers.

“As the apex Information Technology development and regulatory agency in the country, the collaboration of the Agency with key multinational and private stakeholders in developing the NDSS will produce a robust strategy. The creation of the first draft by volunteer expert groups, talent gap assessment, and co-creation with government stakeholders are some of the achievements made so far,” he said.

Inuwa also urged everyone, especially stakeholders and other well-meaning Nigerians in the digital economy family to make inputs that would meet the unified mission and vision of the NDSS.

While expressing his belief in the promising outcome of the collaboration, Inuwa stated that “this is a crucial milestone in our efforts to harmoniously engage with Multinationals and Private sectors as one of the key stakeholders for developing and co-creating the NDSS, and to come up with a comprehensive strategy for setting up standards and developing Digital Literacy & Skills in the country, as well as developing IT professional skills of different proficiency levels,” he added.

The Acting Director of the Digital Literacy and Capacity Building Department of NITDA, Dr. Amina Sambo-Magaji thanked all participants for the support and cooperation given thus far.

She stated that the Rule Making Process (RMP) of NITDA has made provision for engagement in the development of the NDSS.

While noting that the selection of the multinationals and tech giants for the collaboration had been carefully done regarding their operations as individual organisations, she was confident that the co-creation of the NDSS will align with the document’s priority and consequently produce a robust one.

NDSS is aimed at positioning Nigeria as a global digital talent factory capable of filling the 85 million talent deficit as predicted by Korn Ferry in its report titled the $8.5 trillion talent shortage by 2030.

The NITDA Boss stated that it is a momentous milestone in our efforts to harmoniously engage with vibrant and talented experts across different IT domains, aimed at co-creating the NDSS. He urged them to come-up with a comprehensive strategy for setting up standards and developing Digital Literacy & Skills in the country, as well as develop IT professional skills of different proficiency levels.

Inuwa reiterated on four (4) competitive advantages Nigeria has of becoming an ideal nation to take the unfilled job opportunities, as Nigeria has the largest population of youths in the world.

The Nigerian government recognizes the importance of digital skills and is supporting it through investing in capacity building while implementing policies to promote digital inclusion by creating an enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Furthermore, he said, “Nigerians are talented, ambitious, and willing to learn and connect to the global value chain. The Nigerian digital economy is one of the fastest-growing economy in the world with an annual growth rate of 15 percent. This high growth rate suggests that there are ample opportunities to benefit from it.”

The NITDA Boss asserted that the National Digital Skills and Strategy (NDSS) will focus on balancing the gaps between the digital skills supply pipeline and in-demand skill sets required for the future of work.

Speaking earlier in her welcoming address, Dr. Amina Sambo Magaji, the Acting Director, Digital Literacy and Capacity Building Department, stated that there was an open call application for Nigerians, both at home and abroad, to apply for the NDSS VEG. A rigorous screening process was used to identify key people who are experts and will be able to add value into the strategy. The selected persons have built expertise within their own different ecosystems or workgroup, either in building their skills, or in skills of developing strategies, or building ecosystems specifically in the technology and innovation ecosystem.

She said, “the VEG has been grouped into four (4) clusters namely: Digital Literacy Cluster, Digital Capacity Cluster, IT Professional Cluster and M&E Funding & Partnership Cluster, consisting of the Lead, Deputy Lead and Members.”

Explaining further, she said, the digital literacy cluster focuses on basics and foundation, while the digital capacity focuses on IT or Non-IT professional skills. The IT professional cluster focuses on Technology skills such as coding and non-coding skills, and the final cluster which is the M&E Funding & partnership cluster work with all the 3 clusters by monitoring and evaluating the initiatives, the policies and the incentives within the documents as well as seek for fund and partnership.

Mr Niran Oyekale from Commit Consult Ltd, and the lead of Digital Literacy Cluster, appreciated the DG for changing the narrative of the digital space. “It is during your tenure as the DG NITDA that Nigeria actually is going to benefit from a strategic plan to empower Nigerians and make Nigeria very comfortable, competent and confident to move smoothly into the digital space”, he stated.

Mr Ifeanyi Emmanuel Okafor from Teeside University, and the lead of the IT Professional Cluster, assured the DG that this dream is a wonderful one and it will go down as one of the greatest creations in the history of our country. He commended the DG for his commitment and solicited for more support.

Mr Charles Emembolu from Techquest Stem Academy, and the lead of the Digital Capacity Building Cluster, applauded the DG for his relentless efforts in working with Nigerian Startups towards the achievement of the National Digital Skill Scheme. He commended the agency’s team for the zeal, efforts, guidance, and support rendered.

The lead for the M&E, Funding & Partnership Cluster, Mr. Sam Emmanuel, from Semicolon, equally appreciated this opportunity given to him to contribute his quota in the establishment of the National Digital Skill Strategy.

Being a national document, the outcome of the VEG activities will be further developed with key government stakeholders that will be part of bringing the strategy to life before commencing on a wider socialization.