The Federal Government has said it will be giving out 50 laptops monthly to fellows of its 3 Million Technical Training (3MTT) program.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Thursday as he announced the commencement of learning for the 270,000 fellows selected for the second cohort of the program.
According to the Minister, the laptops will be shared during the monthly knowledge showcase of the program where the fellows share what they have learned and how they are applying it.
In addition, a highlight of the ‘learning perks’ shared by the Minister shows that the program will also be giving out 5 MTN routers to the fellows every month.
Although cohort 2 of the program kicked off in March, the Minister said learning is just starting in the middle of May. Announcing the commencement of the session, Tijani said,
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 are now at a stage where they will 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.
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.