TheCable

About 5,000 youths will, on Wednesday, graduate from the SkillupImo project, a digital empowerment programme organised by Hope Uzodinma, the Imo state governor.

In a statement on Sunday, Sandra Opara, spokesperson of the state’s ministry of digital economy & e-government, said the project seeks to equip Imo citizens with top digital skills “for the new world ecosystem pivoted on knowledge economy”.

Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, is scheduled to attend the event.

“The SkillUpImo Project has the overarching target of upskilling, reskilling and training of 300,000 Imo youths to acquire the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) skill-set needed to align with the evolving world,” Opara said.

“The initiative is in line with the Imo Digital Economy Agenda (IDEA), which is mapped to last 2022-2026, with the aim of not only making Imo the digital-skills hub of Africa but also curbing the snag of unemployment in the state.

“In line with the first pillar of the IDEA anchored on “Digital Literacy and Skills”, the project has the vision to graduate employable youths to the society as well as youths who are self-employable and productive to the society and the world at large.”

Amadi Chimezie, commissioner for digital economy & e-government, noted that the programme has started yielding its intended results.

Chimezie said the scheme is poised to address the critical challenge of youth unemployment.

He added that through the initiative, Imo has positioned itself to join hands with the federal government towards tackling unemployment.

“So, it is gratifying to the state government that our graduands — who came in with little or no experience in digital technology — have been equipped with skills in digital marketing, web and app development, content creation, basic data analytics, graphics design, phone and other digital devices repairs, programming, cyber security, among others and they are now set to graduate to begin to utilise their acquired skills for their personal economic growth and that of the society,” Chimezie said.

“We won’t rest on our oars until the target of training 300,000 Imolites is achieved in line with the vision of our people-centric executive governor, Hope Uzodimma.”