NITDA to focus on training women in ICT

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said it will consolidate on its women in Information Communication Technology (ICT) training following the signing and implementation of the 2018 budget.

Mrs Hadiza Umar, the Head, Corporate Affairs of the agency said this on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

According to Umar, women have unequal access to economic opportunities compared to men and technology has the potential to bridge the gap.

NAN recalls that NITDA recently commenced training for 100 women in ICT as part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

The ERGP aims at restoring growth, investing in Nigerians and building a global competitive economy to increase social inclusion, create jobs and improve the human capital base of the economy.

“Toward the realisation of these objectives, NITDA in our efforts at assessing and addressing ICT skills requirements, will support sustainable economic growth, development strides, developed this unique training programme targeting women,” she said.

The programme, which started in the North West region, is expected to create direct and indirect jobs to reduce the burden of unemployment in the country.

“The training of women in ICT, which started with 100 from the North West, will create 300 direct jobs and over 1,000 indirect jobs. The training will continue after the 2018 budget is signed,” she said.

“Statistics have shown that women’s participation in ICT is less than 24 per cent and we in NITDA are determined to bridge the gap through special training programmes for women.” (NAN)