The Chairman of the Sector Skills Council for Information and Communications Technology, Mr. Shola Oshilaja, has warned that Nigeria could lose up to $11 billion annually in potential economic growth due to the widening digital skills gap in the country.
Speaking through the Council’s Secretary, Mr. Chukwuemeka Okafor, Oshilaja made the statement on Tuesday in Abuja during the 21st anniversary celebration of the Digital Bridge Institute, an agency under the Nigerian Communications Commission.
He said, “In Nigeria, the digital skills gap could cost our economy an estimated $11bn annually in lost growth opportunities. The question before us is clear: how do we prepare Nigeria’s workforce not just for today’s market but for tomorrow’s?”
Citing the World Economic Forum, he highlighted that by 2027, around 69 percent of companies worldwide are expected to accelerate their use of Artificial Intelligence, potentially eliminating 85 million jobs while generating 97 million new ones.
He urged urgent policy reforms and educational initiatives to prepare Nigeria for the digital economy, emphasizing the importance of integrating coding, cybersecurity, digital marketing, and AI basics into secondary school curricula, as well as institutionalizing work-based learning through compulsory internships and apprenticeships.
Oshilaja also called on the government to develop a National ICT Skills Framework aligned with international standards and guided by the Council’s recommendations.
He called on government agencies to align policies and regulations to support skills development and to provide incentives for companies investing in digital training.
The President of the Digital Bridge Institute, Dr. David Daser, announced that the Federal Government has finalized plans to train five million Nigerian workers in Artificial Intelligence across both public and private sectors over the next three years.
He added that the initiative is already in progress, with strong backing from President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida.
Daser said, “We have a strong foundation and durable infrastructure to build upon. The future is not just bright, it is solid. We assure our partners of our unwavering dedication to effective service delivery, as we continue to foster and sustain collaborative efforts toward making the world a better place for all.”
He described this year’s theme, Preparing Today’s Workforce for Tomorrow’s Market, as timely, noting that technologies such as AI, 5G, IoT, and cybersecurity are rapidly reshaping the global workplace and require urgent workforce readiness.
Daser stated that the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), established on May 20, 2004, as a centre of excellence for ICT training, has made significant progress in recent months.
Notable achievements include partnerships with the Small Business Training Solutions Group, the launch of the Global Training Partner Programme in Lagos, the graduation of Sightsavers training cohorts in Kano and Lagos, and the commissioning of the Information Access Centre by the minister.
