Ekiti State Partners Microsoft to Train 2000 Youths in IT Skills

Ekiti State Government has partnered Microsoft Nigeria to train thousands of unemployed and underemployed youths across the state on new digital skills through the Global Skilling Initiative.

The State Government has also committed to pay for certification examinations of up to 2000 residents in various skills of their choice through the program to improve their credentials.

The program, designed by Microsoft, and its partners, LinkedIn and GitHub, will help young people acquire skills needed to make them more employable in the post-COVID-19 marketplace. Entrepreneurs and business owners can also participate in the program, to build the capacity of their various employees to promote professionalism, improved work output, and excellent service delivery. The program is available at microsoftskills.ekitistate.gov.ng.

Applicants will be trained on various skills such as; Customer Service, Digital Marketing, Financial Analysis, Graphics Designing, IT Support/Help Desk Technology, Project Management, Sales Development, Data Analysis, IT Administration, and Software Development. Successful participants will acquire industry-recognized IT Certification.

The Partnership is part of the State Government’s strategic focus on the Ekiti Knowledge Zone initiative and ensures that Ekiti develops a talent pool that will make it an attractive destination for both domestic and international technology companies. It also reinforces the Ekiti heritage of being a knowledge-driven society.

The Global Skilling Initiative is Microsoft’s response to help 25 million people worldwide acquire new digital skills for the COVID-19 economy.  Microsoft’s response to help 25 million people worldwide acquire new digital skills for the COVID-19 economy. The initiative identified the global economic crisis, a different hybrid economy that solves to stem the economic downturn. Using IT tools like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Microsoft has identified the 10 most available jobs and created training modules to upskill participants to better qualify for those jobs. The Global Skilling Initiative will end in March 2021.

Ekiti is the first state in Nigeria to partner Microsoft to provide access to the Global Skilling Initiative for its unemployed population as part of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s strategic actions to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.