CodeLagos: Govt Trains Master Trainers

Peace Obi

In a bid to make available the necessary resources for the smooth take off of the CodeLagos initiative, which will be launched later this month, the Lagos State Government recently commenced a three-day training for 100 master trainers who will in turn train over 1,000 facilitators needed for the project.

Briefing journalists in Lagos recently, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said the trainees who were selected after a rigorous process that started in March would serve as master trainers for CodeLagos facilitators. “These master trainers will go on to train over 1,000 facilitators who will eventually be deployed to different coding centres across the state. In this way, CodeLagos will create employment and business opportunities for Lagosians in the technology sector.”

Acknowledging the contributions of the private sector in the project, Bank-Olemoh, who thanked ARM that has committed to setting up 15 centres, also announced the coming on board of some new partners like PricewaterhouseCoopers, SystemSpecs, Etisalat, Oando Foundation and Oracle Academy, among others. He said they will be setting up clusters of coding centres, adding, “CodeLagos will be officially launched this April with a roll out of coding centers across 350 public and private schools, as well as public libraries across the state.”

In his remarks, the Executive Director of SystemSpecs Limited, Mr. ‘Deremi Atanda, expressed the continued commitment of the organisation to support the initiative. “The greatest asset of a state like Lagos is the growing youth population. The choice to empower them is the wisest decision the state has made, thus laying a good foundation for the emerging knowledge economy. We are convinced that CodeLagos will do just that.” The Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Femi Odubiyi, also reiterated the state government’s commitment to developing a tech-driven economy.