NITDA partners foundation to boost creative tech talents

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in collaboration with the Ascend Studios Foundation, has announced its Creative Technology Programme (CTP), 2022.

The programme is aimed at developing and retaining of Creative Technology talents in Nigeria, promoting career skills, and providing job opportunities among the beneficiaries.

Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations of NITDA, and Dr Inya Lawal, President, Ascend Studios Foundation, said this in a statement they jointly issued recently in Abuja.

“The goal of the programme is to enable, nurture, and upskill creative technology talents in persons into viable career options.

“It will create an ecosystem that will boost the economic potential of all participants,” the statement said.

Mr Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA, was quoted as saying that the COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated the existing digital skills gap and resulted in millions of job losses.

Inuwa also said: ”It had disrupted the global landscape, while leaving many with speculations on the world’s recovery mechanism, hence the need for the training.”

Lawal was delighted that NITDA had partnered with them.

He said: “Our goal is to bridge the creative technology skill gap Nigeria has and produce top professionals in gaming, animation, and Augmented Reality (AR) whose work can compete globally.”

Umar said that the creative economy was rapidly transforming the global economic landscape and that the technology skills gap between Africa and other continents was widening.

According to her: ”Technology literacy is fast becoming a fundamental right and a springboard for Africans to engage and participate in today’s world.

“There is a need and demand for creative and digital technology skills that is more pressing than ever before.

“The programme will find talents in animation, games, and AR who will contribute positively to the Nigerian economy and its relation to careers and business opportunities within creative technology.”

She said the application will be open from November 3 to close on November 11.

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