Digital economy: FG, Coursera collaborate to empower youths with tech skills

Coursera Inc., a global online learning platform, says it is partnering with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), to facilitate the country’s transformation into a digital economy.

The collaboration is Coursera’s first government partnership in Nigeria.

In a recent statement, the learning platform said the partnership was launched on October 19, 2022.

Coursera and NITDA intend to reach 8,000 Nigerian learners in the first year of the relationship, the statement said.

“Coursera will be providing NITDA’s selected learners with access to world-class educational content from top universities and industry leaders – including Yale, Meta, Google, and IBM,” it added.

The statement said Coursera would support the Nigerian government in improving the technical capabilities of the country’s public sector, adding that 10 percent of the licences secured by NITDA (as part of the deal) would be assigned to unemployed youths.

This, it said, would equip them with the skills needed to thrive in the modern workforce, including data analysis, cybersecurity, machine learning, and software engineering.

The statement also noted that partnering with Coursera will also give Nigerian learners access to the platform’s professional certificates portfolio.

Anthony Tattersall, vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Coursera, said: “Nigeria’s economic success is being driven by the success of its telecommunications sector, which achieved its highest-ever contribution to national GDP in the second quarter of 2022.” 

He added that working with NITDA would enable Coursera to equip Nigerians with the skills necessary to continue driving further growth in its ICT sector, helping to drive a diversified, competitive, skilled economy.

“Globally, there is a shortage of talents, so we are creating a mandate to develop a talent strategy because we have a competitive advantage as a country with our vast human and natural resources,” said Kashifu Inuwa, director-general of NITDA, while speaking on the partnership.

“By partnering with Coursera to upskill our workforce, Nigeria can seize the opportunity to fill that gap.”