The Nation Newspaper

Tag: skills

  • Building digital skills for future

    As work is changing, so are the skills required to do them. But some Nigerians and organisations are honing the skills of youths for the jobs of the future, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

    Nigeria’s position as a continental financial services powerhouse seems to be  moving up.

    Analysts say the finance and services sectors will make more wealth, if given the right assistance.This is because states, such as Lagos, have good foundations for a thriving financial technology (RinTech) cluster and an opportunity to benefit from a technological revolution that plays to its strengths, both as a financial and an Information Communication Technology (ICT) centre.

    In the last two years, convergence of digital and financial sector strengths and growing global recognition of Nigeria’s role as a key financial hub for West Africa is fuelling its fast emergence as one of the world’s most exciting financial centres. The buzz around fintech has gained attention from traditional financial institutions, start-ups, venture capitalists and regulators.

    Banks are revisiting their models to prepare for fintech.

    But as fintech organisations are emerging, they are facing challenges of attracting and retaining the talents for their growth and development.

    Founder/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Start Innovation Hub, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Mr. Hanson Johnson, urge youths to acquire skills for the jobs of the future.

    In a period of rapid technology, Johnson said the environment for innovation shoulds be attractive and supportive and that the skills needed for this are available.

    He sees states, such as Lagos, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, leveraging the benefits of financial services and ICT,  ensuring that innovation is tailored to financial services and their customers.

    Johnson said technology skills are among the highly-sought-after by organisations. The shortage of key technology skills will impact not just traditional banking and financial services organisations, but also the rapidly-burgeoning array of fintech-specific organisations, he added.

    For this, Johnson believes youths would need IT proficiency to stand any chance of landing a new job across the economy. Coding, he added, is becoming a highly desirable and sought-after practical skill by employers. This follows a rise in roles, such as app and web developers and data analysts. He has seen technologies such artificial intelligence and cloud computing drive change.

    As a result, he said a new approach to skills and training is required. This is, particularly, true for the large segment of financial sector providing services, which may be automated or augmented by artificial intelligence in the future.

    According to him, it will take a collective effort to ensure that no Nigerian get left behind as the government strives to transform the economy for the digital age.

    His start innovation hub is training developers that can be hired out to such tech  firms.

    He said the skills provided to developers would make to pursue self-employment or pick up jobs.

    In Akure, the Ondo State capital, Curators University, an empowerment organisation, is plugging the skills gap in new technologies, using youths in new areas, such as block chain,Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), Data Science, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

    Curators University is a non-degree-awarding technology firm offering cutting-edge technology and entrepreneurship education suited for the 21st century.

    The university, which took off last January, has provided a hub for youths searching for jobs in emerging technology areas. No fewer than 1000 youths may have been trained on data science at its Coven hub.

    Youths become data scientists after graduating from the Coven Labs, Curators University of Data Science and AI Boot camps. Its boot camp, which held in Akure, attracted participants from Oyo, Osun, Ekiti states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

  • Skills devt key to Fed Govt’s agenda

    The Federal Government has reemphasised skills development as key to its development agenda.

    This is to ensure that various formal and informal skill programmes in the country are able to fulfill their mandates through synergy with industry operators in the design, delivery and development of quality assurance.

    Addressing participants at the sixth Industry Stakeholdres Consultation on the Nigerian Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) by the National Board for Technical Education in Lagos, Education Minister Mallam Adamu Adamu, who was represented by Mr Sunny Ochono, a director in Federal Ministry Education, said aside the ministry identifying skills gap in the education system, it also realised that training by the non-formal sector was uncoordinated and non-standardised despite its huge contributions to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    To this end, Adamu said the government would fast-track the institutionalisation of the NSQF; strengthen linkages between the training providers and industry; promote demand driven skills training; as well as standardise and quality assure training in formal and non-formal sectors.

    He said: “These are the responses to the 21 century global trend and demand for functional competences by the industries and employers in the world of work. Nigeria must key in if we want to enhance the employability of our youth, reduce poverty, reduce the incidence of social vices, improve the quality of life, and promote peace and democracy in the country.

    “It is, therefore, the desire of this administration to produce professionals that do not only possess the required skills and competency, but also knowledge, understanding and right attitude to work.”

    He congratulated NBTE on its role in championing TVET in Nigeria, and its ability to bring together stakeholders to encourage synergy.

    “The policy direction of the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with sister federal ministries is therefore to work closely with you to identify the challenges facing skills development in Nigeria, and develop ways and means of overcoming them. I will like assure you that the outcome of this meeting will go a long way in guiding this administration on the best and effective strategy of developing a productive workforce for the nation.”

    NBTE Executive Secretary, Dr Masaudu Kazaure, noted that Nigeria, whose population stands at over 170 million, is projected to reach 440 million by 2050 and shall have, by then, ranked the third most populous nation in the world.

    In terms of productivity gap in manufacturing, Kazaure said Nigeria’s output was $5,200 compared to South Africa’s $27,000.

    Kazaure, quoting the Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report 2013, said while 12 per cent of employed Nigerians were committed to adding value in their workplace, 65 per cent were not engaged, while 23 per cent were actively disengaged.

    Further, Kazaure lamented that the nation’s education system shifted from skill competency to paper qualification, leading to over subscription of Nigeria institutions, the development, he added, created a disconnect between institutions and the workplace, creating a scenario whereby appraisal in TVET institutions was largely academic, despite global trend towards industry-based standard.

    Kazaure said the NSQF would build the Nigerian workforce with requisite skills essential for industrial growth and diversification.

  • Hone their skills

    •EFCC prosecutors need to be well trained to secure high-profile convictions

    The dilemma of our country hobbled by corrupt practices, but without the institutional capacity to bring those responsible to justice, played out at the special offences courts of the Ikeja Division of High Court of Lagos State, last week. The Lagos State judiciary in its determination to ensure efficiency of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of the state, which is a domestic version of the federal Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), created the special offences court, to speed up trial of criminal cases.

    Unfortunately, while the much desired special courts are in place in Lagos, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), one of the specialised agencies created by the Federal Government to fight corruption, appears hobbled by ineffective prosecutorial preparedness, to efficiently take advantage of the special courts. Last week, Justice Sherifat Solebo, sitting in Ikeja, threatened to strike out cases which have been lingering in her court, if the EFCC which filed the matters continue to delay diligent prosecution.

    Angered by the tardiness of the prosecutors, in a case cited as FGN vs Olayinka Sanni and Oyebode Atoyebi, the learned justice threatened: “with effect from this week, (last week) all corruption cases handled by the EFCC that have been dragging this honourable court behind would be struck out as a result of want of diligent prosecution.” To show that the challenge is perennial, she announced in the open court that: “I have written to the EFCC chairman, Magu, on the inability of its officials to execute and prosecute the corruption cases it filed before this court.”

    The absence of institutional capacity within our prosecutor agencies across the country is evident in the number of high profile cases lingering for years, while a huge percentage of those concluded have been lost by the state. On her part, another judge of the special court, Justice O. A. Williams, also angered by the laxity of the EFCC’s prosecution team, struck out a corruption case, with suit No: ID/0722/17, cited as FRN vs Nkeodi Godwin, Tunde Jabita, Akai Egwungwu, Albert Blessing, Charlse Okebamama and Chester Ukandu.”

    Of course, in citing the failings of the EFCC, we are not unmindful that even the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and other prosecutor agencies have not shown superior capacity in their handling of criminal cases which they undertake. While the EFCC and these other statutory agencies may have won a number of cases and have shown enormous determination to fight the scourge of corruption in high places, developing the capacity to conclusively bring the matters to a successful end has not been that easy.

    As a way out, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had recommended that experienced lawyers be retained by the agencies to contend with the senior lawyers retained by the high profile persons charged to court for corrupt practices. But we doubt if the prosecutor agencies have adequate funds to conduct forensic investigations and hire such top lawyers to conduct the laborious trials required under our laws, to gain convictions. Again, acting as both investigators and prosecutors, some of the agencies are bogged down trying to gain capacity to efficiently do both duties.

    It has got to a stage where we have to review the strategy of the prosecutor agencies. Perhaps a special commission made up of the office of attorney-general, jurists, legislators, lawyers, prosecutor agencies and civil society should be set up to proffer solutions to the challenges facing criminal prosecution in our country. While they cannot interfere in the judicial process, they can proffer solutions to the challenges in our criminal justice system, whether through more efficient laws or allowing plea bargain, where expedient.

  • Fashion designers urge youths to acquire skills

    Fashion designers in Asaba, Delta State, have advised youths to embrace vocational education to reduce unemployment and contribute to development.

    They spoke in interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    The designers said vocational education would enable youths to be self-reliant and develop their talents for socio-economic progress.

    Mr. Christian Edewor, a fashion designer in Asaba, stressed the need for youths without formal education to enrol for vocational training where they can acquire skills to make them self-reliant.

    ‘‘Once you are equipped with vocational skills, you are at an advantage because you can survive in the society and support economic development,’’ he said.

    Miss Bukola Onitiri, another fashion designer, said: ‘‘One of the easiest ways to survive in this present economy is to be self-employed and the only thing that can make you self-employed is acquiring vocational skills.’’

    She advised youths to take advantage of opportunities provided by governments, especially in technical and vocational institutions, to develop themselves.

  • 150 artisans trained in skills

    150 artisans trained in skills

    The Chairman of Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area, Hon. Kunle Sanyaolu has urged council members to support government’s efforts to eradicate unemployment.

    He gave the advice when 150 artisans graduated from the council’s skills acquisition programme in different vocations. He said the council was poised to assist the youth to be self-sustaining.

    He also admonished Nigerians to acquire skills that would make them self-reliant, noting that the era was gone when graduates depended on white or blue collar jobs.

    The council chief added that the council would continue to fulfil its electoral promises, stressing that it was committed to make life better for the people.

    He said: “This is the second of its kind where trainees were going through the rigour of learning skills in catering and hotel management. We also train them in make-up, make-over and gele-tying.

    “We have those who trained in computer engineering, shoe making, bag making, hairdressing, soap making and insecticide production, among other skills.”

    Sanyanolu explained that the council has indirectly provided jobs for the trainees, even as he urged them to complement government’s efforts by ensuring that they assist those who seek employment.

    “As part of the campaign promises made during the electioneering period that every resident of this community will enjoy dividends of democracy, we are ensuring that our words remain our bond.

    “Henceforth, they will not only be gainfully employed, but also be employers of labour. He advised the beneficiaries to deploy the knowledge they gained during the training to make themselves and the society better.

    “Today’s event symbolises a vibrant democratic system of government, where the interest of all groups is not negotiable.”

    He said on assumption of office, the administration did not waste any time in mapping out its focus and direction.

    “In the last three and half months, we have been able to provide potable water at Rasheed Bello and Kusimo streets as well as in Community and Unity Primary Schools. The secretariat has also been renovated and furnished.

     

     

     

     

     

  • ITF seeks funding to create skills for youths

    ITF seeks funding to create skills for youths

    The Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joe Ari has appealed to the Federal Government to properly fund the organisation to train as many youths as it can, to help stem the massive youth migration to foreign countries for slavery and prostitution.

    A statement signed by its Head, Public Affairs, Suleyol Fred Chagu,  explained that the DG said equipping Nigerians with relevant skills was in line with the Federal Government’s efforts to create jobs.

    He said this would stop the migration of youths out of the country that has culminated to loss of lives and enslavement of thousands of productive Nigerians.

    He said: “I wonder why the mass migration despite the fact that several surveys by the ITF and other organisations have revealed that skills gaps exist that were being filled by foreigners.

    “ITF is appealing to stakeholders to collaborate with the organisation in order to equip more Nigerians with skills for employability and entrepreneurship.

    “In the last one year alone, over 70,000 Nigerians benefited from these skills acquisition programmes, adding that all the beneficiaries were given starter packs to start their businesses.

    “About 90 per cent of the beneficiaries are either currently successful entrepreneurs, or earning livelihoods as paid employees according to the monitoring and evaluation of graduates conducted by the ITF.

    “If drastic action was not taken, the problem would further escalate going by projections that by 2050, Nigeria’s population will soar to over 500 million. If equipped with the requisite skills, the population could become hugely advantageous.”

    Ari listed some of the programmes to include the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Passion to Profession, Training on Wheels Using Mobile Training Units, the Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) as well as the Vulnerable and Indigent Youth Empowerment Programme (VIYEP) amongst several others.

    Shedding more light on the NISDP, which has trained over 100,000 Nigerians since it commenced, the DG said under the current phase  in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the ITF is training 11,100 trainees with skills in welding and fabrication, tailoring and garment making, and plumbing and pipe fitting.

    It was with a view to equipping Nigerians with skills to fill these existing vacancies that the ITF has embarked on a number of initiatives and expanded existing programmes to ensure that more Nigerians are empowered with skills to check unemployment and promote entrepreneurship.

    He said the state governments, for instance, could collaborate with the ITF towards the establishment of Industrial Skill Training Centres (ISTCs), which will be managed by the ITF on their behalf. He said expanding access to skills acquisition that would create jobs will discourage youths from seeking greener pastures outside the shores of the country.

  • Navy wives build skills acquisition centre

    Navy wives build skills acquisition centre

    •Officers’ spouses shop for personnel families

    The Naval Officers Wives Association (NOWA) at the weekend unveiled an ultramodern skills acquisition centre built to equip the children of its personnel with self-reliance.

    Also unveiled were blocks of 13 shops, which the association said would be leased out at low cost to spouses of naval personnel to boost their financial standings.

    Hailing NOWA for its philanthropic gestures, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, said the association had continuously brought succour to the weary and the needy through innumerable outreach projects and programmes.

    He said: “Its stature in service delivery through expanded opportunities in education and empowerment for self-reliance, therefore, towers impressively for all to behold. The annual ritual of touching the lives of the less privileged in the society during major anniversaries and commemoration further solidifies the imprint of NOWA’s exemplary humanity in our minds.

    “Quite pleasantly, it would seem the organisation is increasingly spurred by each new accomplishment. The community of its beneficiaries and prospective ones could, therefore, feel a genuine sense of hope against the very good prospects and relentlessness of NOWA in changing and re-changing their lots for the better.

    “I invite all in need of the opportunities offered in these projects to quickly embrace them. I charge you to make it count by availing the facilities in a responsible and sustainable manner. We look forward to a feedback of measurable and tangible economic progress from participation in the businesses to be facilitated by these outlets.”

    NOWA’s President Mrs. Theresa Ibas said the projects were completed after several years of hard work, determination and perseverance.

    The NOWA chief acknowledged the contributions of her predecessors, Mrs. Vivian Ezeoba and Mrs. Usman Jibrin, who initiated the ideas during their tenures.

    She noted that the projects would reduce the suffering of naval families.

    Mrs Ibas said: “The idea is for beneficiaries to gain one skill or the other that would reduce financial burden on their parents. We sited the projects in Navy Town, Ojo, because this is where majority of personnel reside.

    “Most of our youths find themselves idle not because they love to be but for lack of means. I sincerely thank Mrs. Vivian Ezeoba for initiating this project.

    “She was passionate about the plight of widows, orphans and the navy family as a whole. She sought ways to alleviate their sufferings and came up with this beautiful idea that has become a reality. This is a milestone in the anal of NOWA.”

    The NOWA president urged naval authorities to send officers with requisite skills to run the centre.

    Aside the projects, The Nation reports that NOWA held its annual Christmas Carol and Nine Lessons, which featured performances from nursery, primary and secondary school pupils, among others.

  • Lagos workers acquire skills for pension administration

    Lagos workers acquire skills for pension administration

    Governments and employers, who fail to accept the welfare of the people as the ultimate law, is at the risk of ruining its stewardships and the trust of the citizens in governance, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He added that employers, who deny this run the undeniable risk of ruining their enterprise, the trust and the devotion of their employees.

    The governor made this statements at the opening session of a workshop tagged: “Vital Interpersonal Skills for Pension Administrators”, organised by the Civil Service Pensions Office (CSPO) of the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in Lagos.

    Ambode, who was represented by Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, said Lagos State government is one of the most notable governments that believe in this ideal, adding that the unrivalled dedication of the state to the welfare of its workforce both during and after service cannot be overemphasised.

    The commissioner said Governor Ambode mandated his ministry to embark on a continuous training of members of staff of the ministry in order to ensure the delivery of top quality service to officers of the civil service.

    The training, he said, was dedicated to the need to inculcate and sharpen the vital interpersonal skills that officers of the Civil Service Pensions Office require to properly serve pensioners and retirees of the state civil service.

    He said: “In addition to fulfilling my duties charged with the responsibility for ensuring the adequate exposure of the civil service to knowledge on an on going basis, the activities that have been carried out signify and underscore the Governor’s commitment to all matters relating to the welfare of staff, retirees, and pensioners in Lagos State.

    “In aiming to call attention to, and aid the development of, the vital interpersonal skills that are vital for pension administrators, our training will focus on the skills that are not learnt in schools, but are important though, rarely visible. These are the skills that are less tangible, harder to quantify, challenging to teach and, sometimes, difficult to describe. They include attributes such as etiquette, getting along with others, listening and engaging in small talk. Without doubt, these skills are related to the concept of ‘employability’, but they are also related to the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency.”

    He continued:“Clearly, possessing the right attitude to work is a soft skill that is not taught in the universities and other formal schools. This is, therefore, an attempt to help officers of the Civil Service Pensions Office develop the skills that are necessary for success. The training will also fully assist the participating officers to appreciate and acquire the benefits that skills training brings to bear on the attainment of the strategic objectives of the government and the effectiveness of the institutions of the civil service. It will also help pension administrators in the CSPO benefit from having officers, who are able to make critical observations.”

  • Delta govt to nurses: improve your professional skills

    The Delta State government has advised nurses to continually upgrade their skills to meet up with trends in the profession.

    Commissioner for Health Dr Nicholas Azinge gave the advice at a workshop on Implementation of the Revised General Nursing, Midwifery and Post Basic Nursing Curricula yesterday in Asaba.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

    Azinge, represented by the permanent secretary, Dr Minnie Oseji, commended the council for taking steps to revise the curricula for nursing and midwifery education in Nigeria.

    “I want to commend the council for revising the curricula for nursing and midwifery education in line with global best practice.

    “Let me also state here that Delta State is taking the lead in achieving universal health coverage through its contributory health insurance scheme established to promote health for Deltans,” Azinge said.

    The commissioner, however, said that for the state to sustain its position, efforts must be made to improve interpersonal communication between health workers and patients.

    He also said there was need to reduce waiting time in hospitals, which required input from nurses.

    Azinge said the workshop’s theme: “Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery Education for Quality Health Care’’, was timely.

    He said the threat of emerging diseases as Ebola, Lassa fever and Monkey pox made it more imperative.

    “It is our belief and expectation that trained nurses will  help improve our health care delivery system,” he said.

    Earlier, Director, Nursing Services, Mrs Veronica Osaneku, said the curricula ensured that nurses and midwives were adequately trained to provide quality health care.

    According to her, regular training of nurses will also help them meet local and global trends in health care.

    He called for effective and efficient implementation of the curricula.

    She said the workshop came at a time the council was planning to commence the National Diploma/Higher National Diploma programme for academic recognition of nursing and midwifery certificates.

    Osaneku posited that the council’s plan of an academic programme informed the need to review the curricula to meet stipulated standards by regulatory bodies.

    In his remark, Registrar, Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Alhaji Faruk Abubakar, said the curricula is reviewed every five years.

    The registrar, represented by Mrs Margaret Eze, council’s head of Education Unit, said the regular review was to ensure that current issues are incorporated into it.

    He said the aim is to maintain standards in nursing and midwifery.

    Abubakar appealed to lecturers and other instructors to be diligent and committed in implementing the curricula.

    He urged them to be committed in the discharge of their duties, noting that a committed and responsible teaching force would help produce graduates that are equipped with the right knowledge and skills.

  • Former Mobil Oil boss tasks entrepreneurs on soft skills

    Former Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mobil Oil Nigeria, Mr. Olumide Onakoya has challenged aspiring entrepreneurs to develop their innate soft skills for them to succeed in the ever growing competitive market.

    Onakoya spoke at the launching of a new book titled ‘Why school doesn’t guarantee success’ written by Olanrewanju Adepetun.

    Justifying the need for soft skills, the erstwhile Mobil Oil boss said skills such as ethics; integrity, communication, team building, and honesty are not necessarily taught in schools but are panacea for success in life, business and career.

    He said that many graduates and entrepreneurs have either lost their jobs or opportunities to scale through not because they are not brilliant but because they lack soft skills that can keep an individual flying high in life.

    He noted that in the course of his work as the CEO of Mobil Plc, he have had fire first class graduates within one year of their employment not because they are not brilliant but because they lack basic life skills that can keep them on their jobs.

    “My engineering certificate became nothing after 10 years in Mobil where I served for over three decades but my soft skills took me to the top in the company.”

    Onakoya, who is also the CEO of Olu Onakoya and Associates further noted that people with soft skills can be trusted with money and not abuse it treat others with respect and are faithful in their chosen profession.

    “What the new world of business is looking for  are self motivated  people of character who will bring positive values, growth and success to organisation  and is doing so ultimately bring the same to themselves,” he said.

    Speaking during the event, the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Mr. Akintunde Oyebode called for the review of the curriculum of our educational system at all levels in order to expand employment opportunities for youths in Nigeria.

    He lamented that there are new and emerging jobs opportunities available for young people but many youth lack the requisite skills and education that are needed to fit into these new opportunities.