The Kaduna State Government has called on the youths in the state, particularly the females to key into the current booming digital economy to be self-reliant.
The Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission, Mr Muhammad Abdullahi, said in a statement in Kaduna that the huge potential of the virtual economy had remained untapped, particularly in northern part of the country.
“Thousands of our youths are roaming the streets without jobs, yet there are millions of opportunities to make a living, doing one form of financial activity or the other with ease via the internet.
“It is time our youths begin to tap from the financial opportunities available in the digital economic platforms,” he said.
Abdullahi said that the state government would soon organise a training to prepare 900 mid-high level digital know-how youths, between the ages of 18 and 40, to access job opportunities in the virtual economy.
According to him, the goal is to teach the beneficiaries how to identify, negotiate, execute and receive payment for jobs on leading e-learning platforms, both locally and internationally.
“Also, there will be a job fair component at the event, which will allow participants to network with and learn more from the e-learning platforms on how to best position themselves to earn incomes from the virtual economy”, he said.
He said that 50 per cent of the target beneficiaries , who would be drawn from Kaduna, Kano and Plateau States would be females.
Abdullahi explained that the training would be conducted in partnership with the World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation as part of efforts to foster a booming digital economy in the state.
He said that the e-learning training tagged: “Click-On Kaduna in Partnership with Digital Naija”, would hold from July 10 to July 12 in Kaduna State University.
“The beneficiaries would be equipped with business skills such as marketing, sales, translation and information and technology applications for developers and web designers.
“There will also be creative industry skills for animators, after-effects artist, graphic designers, illustrators and writers,’’ Abdullahi said.
The commissioner said that the project would place Kaduna state at the forefront of a virtual economic revolution in Nigeria and urged the youths to seize the opportunity and be self-reliant.
He urged interested youths who wanted to earn income from the comfort of their homes to visit: www.pbc.kadgov.ng/click-on-kaduna/ and apply, adding that the application would close on June 22.