The Federal Government has announced the selection of an additional 90,000 Nigerians as fellows in the third cohort of its 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, made the announcement on Tuesday.
While noting that applications for the program are still open, the Minister said Nigerians who are not yet in the learning community can still participate in the talent accelerator program to learn in-demand tech skills and become part of a pool of technical talent for the growing digital economy in Nigeria and globally.
What the Minister said
Announcing the new cohort via a post on his X hand, the Minister stated:
“I am pleased to announce that Cohort 3 of @3MTTNigeria is now live and we will be enrolling an additional 90,000 Fellows to start their training journey.
“For those in our 3MTT Community who have been patiently waiting, please visit your dashboard to get the next instructions on how to take the required foundational learning courses and assessment.”
Going by the implementation plans released by the government, the training will be held in multiple phases.
- The first phase, which is Cohort 1, accommodated 30,000 people, while 270,000 fellows were enrolled for the second cohort in March this year.
- While announcing the selection of fellows for the second cohort of the program, the Minister disclosed that a significant number of fellows in the first cohort of the program were being placed into jobs as interns all over the country.
- Beyond that, he said all the fellows from the first phase were at a stage where they would be participating in hackathons within their states to put what they’ve learned into practice; working together with their peers, and building solutions that can showcase their expertise.
What you should know
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.
- The program started with 30,000 Nigerians, representing 1% of the 3 million target, while the 270,000 selected for the second cohort brings the number to 10%.
- To achieve the program’s target, Tijani said the different phases 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.
Some of the skills Nigerians are being trained on include 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.