The Federal and State Governments in Nigeria should allocate a significant portion of their budgets to train young people in digital skills to enable them become competitive in the global economy, according to technology firm, LearnWithPride Limited.
Beyond government, Akin Oladeji, Founder of LearnWithPride, also encouraged business owners to use technology to expand their businesses’ visibility, while speaking at a summit.
“Our programme focuses on youths, and what we realise is that people, irrespective of their age, think they cannot learn any new skill again. The fact is one needs to unlearn to relearn. At the mention of tech, most people think it has to do with coding, and that is why the majority say they don’t want to transition to tech,” Oladeji said.
“In tech, your location doesn’t matter. As long as you can be skilled up and you can defend what you know, you can get a job remotely. If government can invest money in quality training, not just training, then people will get good jobs irrespective of the location.”
Akin Oladeji, Founder of LearnWithPride.
Digital skills knows no national boundary, LearnWithPride says
The LearnWithPride founder explained further that, “one of the reasons why we have this summit today is to bring awareness to people that acquiring tech skills is not about coding, it could be product management and others that don’t require any coding. After learning these skills, you won’t be focusing on your environment but other countries because the skills that you have acquired are useful all over the world. With these skills, you can be in Nigeria and apply for jobs in the UK, Malta and Ireland among others.”
Oladeji believes that one way Nigeria can reduce unemployment is by investing in technology skills. He explained that individuals who possess tech skills can work from anywhere in the world, while still residing in the country. Furthermore, he elaborated on why people should invest in acquiring tech skills.
“It is a good investment and nothing good comes free. No matter how much you are spending, you need to spend something. You can never get quality training for free, if you really want to invest in yourself and reap the rewards later on, then you should be ready to pay for it. It is an investment that can be beneficial in a short while.
“People need to start looking at the bigger picture. No matter what, some amount of money has to be invested, and you need to find a quality training organisation that is ready to hold you by the hand and walk you through the process. You need to invest something to get something. Whether you are a man or woman, the only thing required in the journey is determination,” Oladeji said.
The LearnWithPride founder stated that he believes some states have room for improvement in terms of empowering the youth. If these states could allocate more funds towards the sector and provide extensive training in the lucrative field of technology, it would lead to securing good jobs for the youth. If the government could invest in quality training, rather than just any training, it would help people obtain better employment opportunities.
“In tech, your location doesn’t matter. As long as you can be skilled up and you can defend what you know, you can get a job remotely. If government can invest money in quality training, not just training, then people will get good jobs irrespective of the location,” Oladeji added.
During the summit, Oluwatayo Winkunle, the Principal Consultant at Techlytics, underscored the importance of embracing technology in the digital age and explained that mobile phones and the internet are vital tools to acquire tech skills.
“If people want to keep up with global skills,” Winkunle added, “they necessarily need to learn the new things that are happening now. As long as you have a phone, internet, nothing is expensive. You see a lot of people who go to YouTube, watch some videos.”
According to Winkunle, “they use their time, phone and data to learn new things. Apart from learning on free platforms, there are free mentorship platforms. Transitioning to tech is not expensive, it depends on your commitment. People should kill that self-limiting belief that tech is hard. It is a matter of determination and individual ambition.”
LearnWithPride prides itself as an organisation that strives to empower individuals to reach their full potential and achieve their career goals through education. The company’s vision is to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills they need to pursue their dreams and attain their full potential.
