By Adeniyi Adedeji, Ilorin
The Kwara State Social Investment Programme, KWASSIP, in collaboration with Google and Wooylab Foundation is organising a digital virtual training programme for youths in Ilorin, the state capital.
The two-week training programme, which is billed to kickstart on Monday, April 27, according to sources, is ostensibly aimed at filling the gap created by the lockdown of the state to contain the spread of COVID-19 and also help to avert any form of restlessness among the youths in the state.
According to the Chief Press Secretary to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Rafiu Ajakaiye, the programme which is at the instance of the government, is part of a ‘Digital Kwara’ component of KWASSIP.
Ajakaiye said, “The virtual training, which is the first phase of a programme that would benefit up to 30,000 young people over the next three years, targets at least 2,000 youths, who would be tutored in basic digital skills and be given certificates.”
He added that the programme is expected to help the youths make the best of the lockdown season by acquiring some digital skills that are relevant for the 21st century economy.
Ajakaiye said, “Digital skills are becoming increasingly invaluable and Kwara youths shouldn’t be left behind in the global surge for the skills of the future.
“The technology skills training under KWASSIP is multi-layered. It is originally designed to train 30,000 young kwara residents in basic digital skills, while an additional 1,500 youth will be trained in advanced digital skills over the next 3 years.”
The long term objective of Digital Kwara, Ajakaiye said, is to set up digital skills centres across Kwara State, where the youths would be equipped with globally-relevant technology education, (software development, data science, machine learning etc.), to advance human capital development in the state.
