“IT IS NOT YET TIME TO SAY UHURU: BUT WE WILL SOON GET THERE FAST”(PART 5) AS WE GET INTO AFAHA OKU ON OUR WAY TO UYO CAPITAL CITY, I SAW THE ABANDONED SITE OF THE AKWA IBOM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK A PROJECT THAT WOULD HAVE GREATLY BOOSTED THE ICT DEVELOPMENT IN AKWA IBOM STATE, THEREFORE WE WILL USE ICTS IN PROMOTING AKWA IBOM YOUTHS ENTREPRENEURSHIP DRIVE, EMPLOYMENT AND WEALTH CREATION. WE WILL AVAIL EVERY YOUNG AKWA IBOMITES AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRAIN AS INNOVATORS, DEVELOPERS, ARTISANS AND/ OR BECOME SELF EMPLOYED IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR, WE BELIEVE YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMMES ARE MISSING WITHIN THE NATIONAL AND STATE EDUCATION SYSTEMS AT SECONDARY, VOCATIONAL AND TERTIARY AND UNIVERSITY LEVELS. THIS KEY PROGRAMMES SHOULD ALSO BE EVOLVE WITHIN THE INFORMAL SECTOR TARGETING POTENTIAL YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS, UNEMPLOYED, OUT OF SCHOOL OR AT RISK YOUTH. GIVEN THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF MOTIVATION, IDEAS AND OPPORTUNITIES, AKWA IBOM YOUTHS WILL BE MORE THAN ABLE TO ESTABLISH PRODUCTIVE AND CREATIVE BUSINESSES. ENGAGING IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP SHIFTS YOUNG PEOPLE FROM BEING “JOB SEEKERS” TO “JOB CREATORS,” AND ALSO FROM SOCIAL DEPENDENCE TO SELF SUFFICIENCY. MANY OF THE SELF-EMPLOYED AKWA IBOM YOUTHS WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE UPKEEP OF THEIR FAMILY, SOMETIMES IN A LEADING ROLE IN THE ABSENCE OF PARENTS. IT IS PATHETIC THAT DESPITE THESE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF ICTS IN CREATING YOUTH ENTREPRENEURIAL GROWTH IN AKWA IBOM STATE, THE MAJORITY OF YOUTHS CONTINUE TO LOOK UP TO THE STATE FOR EMPLOYMENT RATHER THAN CREATING THEIR OWN JOBS AND EMPLOYING OTHERS. WE INTEND TO TRAIN ATLEAST 1000 AKWA IBOM YOUTHS BETWEEN 2015-2019 IN A GROWTH SECTOR, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WE WILL WORK OUT ARRANGEMENT WITH CISCO, A US-BASED IT COMPANY, IN FORM OF COUNTER-PART FUNDING PARTICIPATION TO ENGAGE IN THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDC) INITIATIVE, REPLICATING CISCO NETWORKING ACADEMIES IN LDCS. THE NETWORKING ACADEMY PROGRAM IS A COMPREHENSIVE 560-HOUR COURSE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH THE SKILLS THAT WILL ENABLE THEM TO DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN COMPUTER NETWORKS. AT THE END OF THE CURRICULUM, AKWA IBOM STATE STUDENTS CAN CHOOSE TO PASS A CISCO-CERTIFIED EXAMINATION WHICH WILL GUARANTEE THEM A SECURED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES WITH A MINIMUM SALARY OF =N=1M PER MONTH IN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INTERNATIONAL DONORS, CISCO SET OUT TO PROVIDE INTERNET-BASED LEARNING AND IT SKILLS TRAINING IN HALF OF THE WORLD’S 50 LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. WE INTEND TO ENLIST AKWA IBOM STATE AMONG THE 125 NETWORKING ACADEMIES BEEN ESTABLISHED IN 11 COUNTRIES. CURRENTLY, OVER 9 200 STUDENTS ARE ENROLLED THROUGHOUT WEST AFRICA. MORE THAN 60% OF STUDENTS ARE BETWEEN 25 AND 34 YEARS OLD. WE ARE PROJECTING THAT THE OUTCOME AND IMPACT WILL ENABLE TWO-THIRDS OF THE STUDENTS FIND IT JOBS AFTER COMPLETING THE PROGRAMME AND 10% WILL START THEIR OWN BUSINESS. THE PROGRAMME WILL BE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE IT COVERS THE DEMANDS OF A GROWING SECTOR. FROM OUR REALISTIC SURVEY ANALYSIS ,IT INDUSTRY ESTIMATE SHOWS THAT SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA WILL HAVE 400 000 VACANCIES IN THIS SECTOR IN A FEW YEARS’ TIME DUE TO A LACK OF QUALIFIED SPECIALISTS. CLOSING SUCH SKILLS GAPS IS PROBABLY THE QUICKEST WAY TO COMBAT YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN AKWA IBOM STATE. WE HOPE TO COOPERATE BY WAY OF PRIVATE –PUBLIC-PARTNERSHIP WIDEN THE OUTREACH AND DEMAND-DRIVEN TRAINING PROGRAMMES ,EVEN THOUGH THE FEES BEING CHARGED FOR THE COURSES WILL IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE ACADEMIES. HOWEVER, THEY MIGHT INHIBIT THE ACCESS OF POOR YOUTH, ALTHOUGH WE ARE MAKING PLANS TO SUBSIDIZE THE COST AND REDUCED RATES WILL BE OFFERED FOR UNEMPLOYED. WE INTEND TO ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOFTWARE COMPANIES AMONG THE AKWA IBOM YOUTHS ,ESPECIALLY THE FRESH COMPUTER SCIENCE GRADUATES FROM AKWA IBOM STATE, TO DEVELOP SOCIAL NETWORK, SECURITY ,MARKETING ,HEALTH AND EDUCATIVE SOFTWARE PROGRAM LIKE SQUIRREL COMPUTER LESSONS FOR KIDS IN BASIC SCHOOLS ,FACEBOOK ,TWITTERS, GOGGLE ,BODOO ,YOUTUBE,ETC. WE WILL WORK WITH THE WORLD BANK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TWO OTHER PRIVATE FIRMS,LIKE INFODEV AND BUSY INTERNET AND GROOMED THE AKWA IBOM YOUTHS ON BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND BOOK KEEPING, AS WELL AS MANAGERIAL SKILLS. WE BELIEVE THIS WILL CREATE THOUSANDS OF JOBS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE AKWA IBOM YOUTHS AND STAFF. THROUGH THIS ICTS AND YOUTHS ENTERPRENEURAL INITIATIVE WE WILL PROMOTE LEADERSHIP IN THE STATE, WE WILL BUILD CAPABILITIES AND NETWORKS BETWEEN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS ( LIKE GOVERNMENT AND UNIVERSITIES) AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO SUPPORT AND RE-BUILD THE ABANDONED TECHNOLOGY PARKS AND BUSINESS INCUBATORS FOR THE ICTS SECTOR IN AFAHA OKU IN AKWA IBOM STATE, IN PARTICULAR TO NURTURE YOUTH-LED ICTS ENTERPRISES THROUGH SUCH INITIATIVES. INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS WILL ALSO BE CO-OPTED AS AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE PROMOTION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT, KNOWN AS ICT4D. FOR INSTANCE, THE AKWA IBOM STATE YOUTH AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT (ICT4D) NETWORK , WE WILL CREATE PLATFORM FOR YOUTH INPUT INTO THE AKWA IBOM STATE INFORMATION SOCIETY AGENDA, WE HAVE A VISION OF A NETWORKING A GENERATION OF AKWA IBOM YOUTHS TO EMPOWER THEMSELVES AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE STATE’S ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY. THE NETWORK WILL COMMENCED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS ACTION PLAN IN 2015 , WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE YOUTHS INVOLVEMENT IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT ON THE AKWA IBOM STATE. WE WILL ADOPT POLICIES AND STRATEGIES TO INCREASE ACCESS TO ICT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH EDUCATION, WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON MULTIMEDIA LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. WE WILL ESTABLISH AN E-LEARNING COMPETENCE CENTRE AND SET UP AKWA IBOM MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT TO REPLACE THE REDUNDANT MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WHICH IS ALMOST DUPLICATING THE ROLE OF MINISTRY OF EDUCATION PRESENTLY TO ENABLE US GET CONNECTED TO CISCO SYSTEMS IN 2015. THE CENTRE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO AKWA IBOM STATE‘S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND COMPETITIVENESS BY ENHANCING WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE THROUGH STATE-OF-THE-ART E-LEARNING AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT. THE CENTRE WILL SUPPORT THE SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG AKWA IBOM PEOPLE IN ALL DISCIPLINES THROUGH DIRECT DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS THROUGH THE CENTRE AND BY HELPING OTHER MINISTRIES ESTABLISH SIMILAR COMPETENCE CENTRES. THE INITIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE CENTRE WILL BE TO DEVELOP LOCAL TRAINING CENTRES IN CONJUNCTION WITH GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS), DELIVER EDUCATION PROGRAMS TARGETED AT SMALL-TO-MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES), HELP SET-UP THE E-LEARNING CENTRE FOR THE PROPOSED MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, AND BEGIN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. THE CENTRE AIMS TO DELIVER A WIDER RANGE OF E-LEARNING PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE, INCLUDING E-GOVERNMENT AND HEALTHCARE EDUCATION, THE CENTRE WILL CONCENTRATE ONLY ON THE DELIVERY OF SME AND ICTS PROGRAMS. THE CENTRE WILL DELIVER CISCO IT ESSENTIALS I AND II, CISCO I EXECUTIVE EDUCATION AND MICROSOFT’S UNLIMITED POTENTIAL PROGRAMS TO BUILD ICT AND MANAGEMENT CAPACITY WITHIN AKWA IBOM STATE’S SME COMMUNITIES. THE CENTRE WILL OFFER CISCO SPONSORED CURRICULUM NETWORKING ACADEMY CURRICULUM AND TRAINING TO LOCAL ACADEMIES. THE INITIAL CURRICULUM WILL OFFER THIS PROGRAM TO THE CENTRE IS IT ESSENTIALS I AND II. THE REQUISITE LEARNING PLATFORM TO SUPPORT THIS AND OTHER CURRICULUM WILL BE DEVELOPED AND DELIVERED BY THE CENTRE IS THE CLI VIRTUOSO. CONTENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS OF THE CENTRE WILL INCLUDE, CREATING E-LEARNING CONTENT FOR THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT), ORACLE, LOCALIZING AND TRANSLATING CONTENT FOR THE I EXEC ED BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS PROGRAM AND MIGRATING TO THE CENTRE’S LMS A SERIES OF DESKTOP SOFTWARE SKILLS COURSES THAT ARE BASED ON MICROSOFT’S UNLIMITED POTENTIAL PROGRAM. WE WILL CREATE SOLUTIONS USING ICT AS ENABLER AS OUR MAJOR CONCERN ,THE EDUCATION SYSTEM WILL GO THROUGH CONTINUOUS MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT TO CREATE AN ICT ENTREPRENEUR. IN TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT, ICT JOBS WILL INCREASE AT AN ALARMING RATE ,. IN ADDITION, OUR TARGET WILL BE ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS IN
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 19:16:34 +0000
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