So, what happens to SkillUp Imo now?

Please, don’t let the above question trouble you. It’s my response to the SkillUp Imo documentary which I watched recently. It was so totally unexpected but so delightfully nourishing at the end that I couldn’t have asked for anything better to see on television that very day. AIT gave me the full dose of SkillUp Imo Impact Story that morning for which I remain grateful.

I was privy to its birth and have also done regular checkups on the project to measure its progress or should I say growth? SkillUp Imo is a cardinal capacity building programme designed by the Imo State Government to tackle youth unemployment and restiveness by exposing beneficiaries to well structured training on modern technology, which is executed in cohorts. Take them off the streets and wean them on the ever expanding but rich and increasingly and infinitely relevant diet of technology.

So much space within which to move but oftentimes, reason, meaning and relevance are lost within the space and a good programme can easily morph into a political ballyhoo.

The Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, set the limits of what would turn out to be broad expectations. “The aim of the SkillUp Imo Project is to upskill, to re-skill and train 300, 000 Imo youths to acquire the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) skill set needed to align and fit into the evolving digital world,” his voice rang out in a hall filled to capacity.

Pioneer Commissioner of the Ministry of Digital Economy and e-Government, Dr Chimezie Amadi, who was equally as enthusiastic, said the whole idea spins from the governor’s foundational belief in the Imo Digital Agenda – IDEA 2022-2026, which is tasked with spearheading digital transformation and redefining governance in Imo State.

But transformation would have to start with the people, especially the young ones who shouldn’t waste their prime of creativity and genius when given the right training or skill set, that is, if the governor is kind enough to lend us his phrase.

This was 2022, and above expectations are expected to be met by 2026. Is the State close to meeting the target? Without a tint of doubt, I want to say they are not close to meeting the target at all. But a seed has been sowed and it is the germination of that seed and gradual growth that prompted my opening question: so, what happens to SkillUp Imo programme now?

The documentary and other available documents clearly put the records out there. After the successful completion of Cohort 1 and 2, about 40,000 youths have been trained in areas such as Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile App Development, Introduction to Computer, Phone Repairs, CCTV, LAN, Graphics, UIUX, Project Management, Software Development, Blockchain, Fibre Networking and Spicing, Fintech, Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing.

There are other details. Out of these numbers, 47 percent are males, 53 percent female while 2 percent of them are people living with disability.

Within the period, SkillUp Imo has developed strategic partnerships with local and international technology giants, such as CISCO, Microsoft (via wootlab Foundation), and the Memoranda of Understanding signed with the European DIGITAL SME Alliance. The Alliance opens several windows of opportunities for SkillUp Imo graduates.

The documentary informs that a remarkable percentage of the SkillUp Imo graduates have been connected to high paying job opportunities within and outside the state. Over 500 alumni have secured remote gigs on remote platforms like the ministry’s own freelance platform – Technosphere, while some others are pursuing sustainable careers with companies like Konga, Adminting, Silicon Valley, Zinox, and 421 Films, among others.

The documentary brims with testimonies of young people whose lives have been impacted by the SkillUp Imo initiative, as they have become natural ambassadors, flying the flag of a programme they least expected to change their stories forever. There is no need to talk of the job situation in Nigeria which is dire, but quite a number of them say they are gainfully employed now and have a means of livelihood which opens them up to the opportunities in the global technology ecosystem.

Some employers attest to the quality of graduates of the programme while appealing for its sustainability.

A beneficiary of the programme, Precious Ikoku testified in the following manner: “SkillUp Imo exposed me to a lot of opportunities. First, I got to meet a lot of amazing people, creatives that are interested in video editing. I am still in touch with them. They give me jobs for editing. I edit videos for them and they pay me,” she said excitedly.

While for Jim Temple, “My experience with SkillUp Imo is that it really had a positive impact on me. I made some connections in which Wakanow.com Ltd was one of them. I had a series of interviews with so many companies before I landed the one with Wakanow.”

“We are excited about the partnership between Microsoft and SkillUp Imo. We have seen tremendous impact especially with the participation of the youths,” said Ola Tominwa of Microsoft.

There is no doubt that Imo State is building a coalition of relationships that can secure its future and achieve that “unique and enviable status of an emerging tech talent hub of Nigeria,” which Amadi dreams about.

So, what happens to the SkillUp Imo programme? “The SkillUp Imo Project represents a visionary initiative that empowers citizens, fosters innovation, and positions Imo as a key player in the global economy,” Amadi says.

More words, you may want to say, to decorate a project that has achieved resounding acclamation, but what future lies ahead? What are the sustainability plans?

I remain fascinated by that documentary. I am happy for the young men and women who now have their future within their grasp as they tap into the digital world with limitless opportunities. But I also know that ideas and projects can easily take a journey to the graveyards, destroyed by whimsical cravings of politicians who care only about their tenure and less about the people.

From that documentary, one could see an enthusiasm about the SkillUp Imo Project that Governor Uzodinma should sustain. He should solicit more private sector participation and also the active involvement and sustained engagement with international technology organisations and agencies which are more disposed to training and subsequent engagement of international talents from tech hubs even in the developing countries.

Technology unites the world. The language is almost synchronous, and is blind to colour and race. Those who acquire it have a password to happenings in the global technology ecosystem. This should encourage the government of Imo State to elevate SkillUp Imo beyond the dirty realm of politics, to an idea whose time has not only come, but can well lead the State beyond dreams, to a world which only technology understands and can interpret fully to the benefit of humanity.