Industry 4.0 is the new reality and organisations across the globe are embracing this trend to stay in the race and move ahead.
It is a name given to the idea of smart factories where machines are augmented with web connectivity and connected to a system that can visualise the entire production chain and make decisions on its own. The trend is towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies that include cyber-physical systems (CPS), the Internet of things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), cloud computing and cognitive computing. Industry 4.0 is also referred to as the fourth industrial revolution.
Global talent and skills development corporation, National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), has been quick to perceive the arrival of this new phase in the history of human evolution, and recognised early the criticality of preparing people power for Industry 4.0.
Today, with Industry 4.0 taking the wheel, NIIT has begun steering nations towards this direction. It is enabling a host of countries in their mammoth task of skills building — to prepare them to become smarter through the active leverage of digital technologies. A key element of this task is equipping the youth globally with skills that make them more relevant and employable in the Industry 4.0 environment.
With this as its goal, NIIT is providing cutting-edge training programs in technologies that are redefining the economic landscape and spawning a new generation of careers.
Nigeria, one of the Africa’s massive and most vibrant markets, has always remained on NIIT’s radar, especially since it began its globalisation drive.
NIIT’s foray into Nigeria in 1999 came with the commitment of transforming the country’s youth into a state-of-the-art workforce. Since then, the education leader has been preparing Nigerian youngsters for lucrative IT careers and has launched several initiatives in the country. Currently operating in Nigeria with 20 centres in various cities, NIIT is reaching its new-age learning to a growing expanse of job aspirants and helping connect hirers to highly employable graduates and professionals.
Over the last two decades, NIIT Nigeria has launched an innovative and unique scholarship initiative aimed at drawing Nigeria’s young into the IT fold. The national scholarship, which rewards and encourages meritorious students and has captured the imagination of learners, has reached out to over a million students in the past 20 years. The programme, which offers scholarship assistance across various segments, including school leavers, undergraduates, graduates (unemployed, under-employed), individuals desirous of enhancing their technical skill-sets and, has played a transformational role in Nigeria’s economy.