Maduka Nweke
In line with its mandate to build and up-skill the capacity of young people in Lagos State to be globally competitive in digital competences, the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), through its technology programme, Lagos Innovates, has, in partnership with IBM, unveiled digital centres in the state to access IBM’s Digital-Nation Africa (D-NA) initiative.
As part of the partnership agreement, the LSETF, will in conjunction with local experts and partners, build digital capacity for youths in Lagos State through the implementation of the IBM’s D-NA initiative, which will help the youth of Lagos not only gain the key knowledge required for today’s digital world but also be encouraged to open their minds to innovation and experience designing their first digital solution. This will help ensure that industries and businesses have access to a digitally skilled labour force, and the programme is available to all.
To implement the D-NA programme in Lagos State, LSETF will use ATC Nigeria’s digital centres to ensure more young people can effectively access the programme. These are computer-equipped centres that use the uninterrupted power supply and broadband link from ATC Nigeria’s communication tower sites to provide local communities with free education and training in ICT to increase computer literacy and help create digitally-empowered societies. In light of this level of preparedness, youths within the age range of 18 to 35 years who are interested in learning new digital skills can now visit the Digital Villages to take the free intensive IBM training for a period of three to 16 weeks.