New Horizons, a computer learning institute, has further charged students of Caleb University, Imota in Ikorodu, Lagos State to embrace the acquisition of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and e-business skills for a secured future.
With employers of labour frowning at the calibres of graduates being churned out from higher institutions as well as spiralling youth unemployment becoming a socio-economic challenge, experts from New Horizons said students can make themselves employable as well as be self-employed immediately after graduation through the acquisition of international professional skills and certifications in ICT.
General Manager, Education Business, New Horizons, Bolaji Olaoye, speaking at the New Horizons ‘Infotainment Fiesta’ organized at Caleb University to introduce Huawei ICT Academy from Huawei Technologies Limited, encouraged the students to get Huawei skills and certification so as to position themselves as tomorrow’s indispensable professionals in the ICT industry, both locally and internationally.
Olaoye said: “We are here to add highly-sought extra value to Caleb University students. Caleb University happens to be one of our partner universities, and the whole idea is that we are enhancing the quality of our existing technology offers to them with more robust, hot and latest technologies. We brought Huawei Technology as our partner in this initiative through Huawei ICT Academy and Certification.”
He added that, “We decided to add that value to what we have been offering the students, and to further sensitize the students on the necessity to always validate their skill set with External International certification (EIC). We place emphasis on skills so that when the students acquire the skills which we impart to them through our partners, they now validate it with External VUE/Prometric International Certification Examinations so that any one of them that travels abroad will not go and be doing minor jobs, but will be able to compete with their counterparts abroad.”
He emphasised on the skills acquisition saying that the prevailing socio-economic challenges confronting graduates in the country is becoming extremely serious as reliable report from Nigeria Bureau of statistics says about 70 per cent of Nigerian graduates are unemployed or under-employed.
“It is worrisome that while more graduates are produced yearly, the industry which is the employer of labour is shrinking geometrically because of frequent shutdowns and lay-offs,” he stated.
He said these students are the potential captains of industry tomorrow, and they can only be captains of industry if they acquire top of the range competitive skills.
“Without mincing words, it is as certain as day and night that graduates with professional IT skills and Certifications irrespective of his or her academic discipline, have better chances of lucrative employment or venturing into self-employment for wealth-creation, to make a positive impact on the country’s socio-economic development,” he added.
Vice Chancellor, Caleb University, Professor Ayandiji Daniel Aina appreciated New Horizons for the initiative and called on other universities in the country to equip their students with internationally-rated ICT skills as a matter of top priority.
“We need to take extra steps to empower students with ICT skills so as to boost their competitiveness on graduation. Everything you do in this twenty first century have to be driven by ICT,” he said.
“New Horizons brought the idea of bringing other partners like Huawei Technologies and they are setting up Huawei Academy here. That means they want to have a platform to interact with the students to update their skills in ICT. When our partners introduced the idea of bringing their collaborating partners to do this, we gave them the approval because this will further boost the market-readiness of our graduates,” he said.
On how ICT will affect Nigerian educational system, Professor Aina said: “There is virtually nothing you do now that is not ICT driven, even lectures and every class room activities. I can be a professor on six months leave in the US and I will still have my class through virtual IT facilities. Once the university is ICT driven, it means I will not be missing in class. All I need to do is to dedicate some hours to make myself available.”
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