By Saby Elemba, in Owerri
- Attracts $1m grant from Coca-Cola
A total of 15,000 Imo youths are now undergoing the second edition of the Imo youths Skill-Up Digital training programme, Cohort 2, on the back of the success of the first edition which produced 5,000 digitally trained Imo youths.
The success recorded with Cohort 1, had come to the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari and opened job opportunities for some of the lucky digitally trained Imo youths as some multinational companies, including Coca Cola, have shown interest in offering employment to them.
Meanwhile, the state’s investment in the digital economy has already attracted a grant of one million dollars ($1m) from Coca Cola, while the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is poised to support the programme mounted by Imo State government for its youths, to ensure the graduation and proper equipping of the trainees.
Governor Uzodimma while flagging off the Cohort 2 programme, recalled that 5000 youths were trained and graduated in Cohort 1, and empowered with laptops and other start-up kits based on their chosen areas of specialisation.
Uzodinma noted his administration’s irrevocable commitment to laying a solid foundation for youths to deploy their acquired digital skills anywhere they go and excel accordingly, the programme was launched at Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.
The governor emphasised that the welfare of youths is central to the prosperity agenda of his government, as they represent the present and future generation of Imo State, while noting that the step to achieving the target of graduating 100,000 youths in digital skills can only be realised with the encouragement of participants.
“Today we are flagging off 15,000 young men and women with plans at top gear to ensure that we shall achieve before the end of this year, 100,000 milestones within our implementation programme. To this end, l have directed the Ministry of Digital Economy and E-government to explore necessary collaborations considered expedient to ensure increased access to Skill-Up Imo programme for all Imo State residents and citizens.
“On graduation, not only will we give you start up kits but also professional certificates that will be recognised anywhere in the world, the professional certificate will make the world look for you and not you looking for the world,” the governor said.
He gave assurance to the trainees that the same intense digital, entrepreneurial marketing and literacy training undergone by the Cohort 1 will also be undergone by Cohort 2 in basic, intermediate and advance level of courses for the next 6-12 weeks, to enable them compete favourably with their counterparts in any part of the world.
Expressing his desire that “between 2022- 2026, as a result of the Skill-Up Imo programme, more than 500 billionaires under 35 years will be produced in Imo State. This is because what the global literature has recognised is not literacy but enterprise,” noting that ideas rule the world. The idea is up-skilling and reskilling to graduate at least 100,000 youths per year,” he added.
Chimezie Amadi, commissioner for digital economy and e-government, said the objective of the training programme is to train 300,000 youths in the space of three years, graduating 100,000 each year.
He revealed that apart from the five learning centres in use, five more have been added to increase access to the training programme as directed by governor Uzodimma and assured that “the mandate to train 100,000 each year will be realised by his ministry.”
He listed the extra centres to include Imo State Polytechnic Omuma; K O Mbadiwe University, Ogboko, College of Health Sciences, Amaigbo, Claretian University Nekede, and University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo.
