Nigeria’s digital skill talent gap is causing the country to lose out on fortune a year as companies are finding it increasingly difficult to find the right candidates with the digital skills to fill its vacancies.
This gap according to digital experts who gathered at an industry event entitled Accelerating Talents for Industry
organised by Digify Africa and supported by Facebook in Lagos over the weekend, believe can only be bridged, if Nigerians begin to show more interest in uplevelling their digital skills, which goes beyond just checking and posting events on social networking sites.
Taking turns to explain the gaps and how technology is disrupting brand communication while highlighting government‘s role is in closing the digital divide, the experts were also in consensus opinion that to bridge digital skills gap in Nigeria, there is need for every citizen to understand the rudiments behind being computer literate.
One of the speakers, Yemi Orimolade, Regional Philanthropies Marcom Coordinator, Microsoft MEA, said with the fourth revolution being in place people will need to upscale, learn new skills and relearn to become more relevant with the future of work or jobs in the new industrial revolution.
Orimolade said basic computer literacy is the first step in closing the huge digital skills gap in the industry.
“We need to go back to the basics and make digital education available across board.”
Also speaking, Lanre Osibona, Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Information Technology, however, noted it will take the collaboration of both private and government intervention if Nigeria will take the Lead in the developmental drive to bring ICT to the fore in the formal and Informal Sectors of the country.
While praising the effort made so far by Digify Africa in training and preparing graduate for digital workplace he accepted that there is more work to be done to prepare Nigerians for the 4th revolution.
For Olamide Egbayelo, Chief Digital Strategist, Hexal Place, she noted that the importance of having a Social Media Manager can no longer be underestimated. The system is changing, brands have to adjust.
She tasked institutions not to wait for the government to change the curriculum, but for individuals to go out there and learn for themselves.
Earlier in her remarks Florence Atunwa Olumodimu, Programme Director Digify Nigeria, said there is a major gap who had interact and nurtured over 5000 youths said what is apparent is that there is a major gap between what the majority are learning at the university and the skills required to flourish in the industry 4.0.
“We have been able to deliver digital skills and soft skills that are required for the future of work. We activate Africa`s most valuable natural resources, ‘young people’ — as a solution to one of its most critical challenges: youth unemployment,” she added.
Ken Ndubusi, Head of Operations at TCY Africa, emphasised the need for every sector to brace up and not wait on the government to close the digital skills gap but readily embrace every digital skill opportunity and evolve alongside.
Yetunde Adeshina, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Prima Garnet Africa, said if there is a deliberate policy with the government understanding what digital means? There would be a stop to the level of harassment and the mentality of digital being a fraud would certainly be overruled.
Head of Marketing, Korapay, Peace Itimi, said there has to be a move on the part of everybody, government especially; in ensuring that every area of the nation is empowered with basic digital skills.
