Ini Billie Uyo
The Federal Government, World Bank-sponsored digital skills training in partnership with Start Innovation Hub, Georgid Consulting and Crestage Consortium have started in Akwa Ibom State.
The training commenced with an orientation programme for over 2,000 applicants and will train about 700 persons on Digital Marketing, Data Analytics and Cyber security.
The unique feature of the Federal Ministry of Education facilitated training under the Innovation, Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) project in Akwa Ibom State is the inclusion of Persons With Disability in the training.
Chief Executive Officer of the training organisation, Start Innovation Hub, Mr Hanson Johnson who said successful applicants would be trained and connected to jobs, noted that special provisions have been made for PWDs to be part of the programme.
Speaking on Tuesday in Uyo during the hybrid (physical and online) orientation exercise, Johnson explained that the training would comprise three months of hands-on experience and three months of internship.
“During the programme, we will be training you on technical skills, soft skills and business development skills. Technical skills will give you access to the job, soft skills will keep you on the job, and business skills for those who want to start their businesses will have what it takes to be able to start and grow businesses from Akwa Ibom State.
While speaking, the Project Coordinator, Mr Ndifreke Patrick, charged the applicants to commit themselves to the programme and not waste the opportunity, while some of the training instructors who spoke gave a brief content summary of digital marketing, data analytics and cyber security.
Some of the orientation participants expressed delight at the opportunity and were eager to begin training. One of them, Rachael Attat, who registered for digital marketing said, “I am looking forward to it”.
Some of the PWDS promised to take the training seriously by attending classes, hoping that the training would foster a bright future for them.
Over 10 per cent of participants were PWDs.