The Federal Government has signed a N1 billion deal with telecom infrastructure company, IHS Tower, to build learning communities across Nigeria for the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani announced the partnership on Monday. According to the Minister, the N1 billion funding from IHS Towers also includes a commitment to paying the salaries of 37 dedicated learning community managers for each location for the next 3 years.
The support came as a boost to the federal government’s program which seeks to train 3 million Nigerians in technical skills over the next 3 years. While applications for phase one of the program, which is targeting 30,000 opened on October 13, over 300,000 Nigerians had applied as of October 19, according to the Minister.
Aside from the 30,000 trainees, the program is also recruiting training providers and partners to drive the initiative.
Minister’s statement
Announcing the new partnership deal with IHS via a post on X, the Minister said:
- “I am excited to announce a N1 Billion partnership between the @FMoCDENigeria and @IHSTowers to establish the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Learning Community. This initiative, which is in support of our recently launched 3MTT program, will facilitate the setup of learning communities in the 36 states and the FCT.
- “The N1 billion funding from IHS Towers also includes a commitment to paying the salaries of 37 dedicated learning community managers for each location for the next 3 years. This is the first in a number of partnerships that we will be securing in support of our targets, specifically for the 3MTT program and broadly for the Knowledge pillar in our Strategic Blueprint.”
The program
According to Tijani, the 3MTT program is a critical part of the Renewed Hope agenda and is aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent backbone to power its digital economy and position Nigeria as a net talent exporter.
He said the first phase of the program, executed in collaboration with NITDA, will involve multiple stakeholders including fellows, training providers, partners, and placement organizations.
In the first phase, he said the government would we will select individuals with an interest in specific skills and fund the cost of their training with training providers accepted into the program.
Highlighting how the first phase of the program will run, the Minister stated:
- “In line with the Ministry’s 1%-10%-100% implementation approach, this first phase will aim to train and place 30,000 technical talents, representing 1% of our overall target. It will be executed based on the framework co-created with key stakeholders across government agencies, training providers, educational institutions, development agencies, and the private sector.”
According to the Minister, some of the skills Nigerians would be trained on in the first phase are skills that utilise technology to enhance various roles without directly involving tech creation.
These include Digital Marketing, Project Management Software, Cloud Platforms Navigation, Data Analysis and Visualisation, Digital Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), CRM Management, Accounting Software, Graphics Design, and UX/UI Design, among several others.