Ekiti State partners Microsoft to certify 2, 000 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 programme to improve

their credentials.

The programme, 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

programme, to build the capacity of their various employees to promote

professionalism, improved work output, and excellent service delivery. The programme

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. 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 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.