The Lagos State Government in partnership with an Information Technology start-up firm, SkillPaddy, is set to empower youths with tech skills as part of efforts to tackle unemployment in the state.
This was according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Innovation and Technology, Mr Olatunbosun Alake, on Wednesday, during the inauguration of the online platform in Lagos.
He said, “There is a need to encourage private sector involvement in capacity building for the youth and I express my desire to work with SkillPaddy to train youths as part of an already existing programme with Lagos State.
“In response to the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, along with incessant university strikes keeping millions of young people generally idle, intelligent innovations such as this online up skilling platform would be an advantage.”
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of SkillPaddy, Kunle Erinle, explained that relevant tech skills will provide jobs for millions of youths in line with the fast-changing global economy.
“The world is changing very fast. Today, eight out of 10 biggest companies in the world are in the tech industry. This translates to 10 million jobs in the digital technology space with one million of these jobs open in Africa.
“Do you realise that most of these jobs remain open year after year because people with the right skills are either not applying or none existent? It is a real challenge for us as a continent, and that is why SkillPaddy exists,” he said.