The Chairman of the Sector Skills Council for Information and Communications Technology, Mr Shola Oshilaja, has said that Nigeria could lose an estimated $11bn annually in potential economic growth due to the widening digital skills gap in the country.
Oshilaja, who was represented by the Secretary of the Council, Mr Chukwuemeka Okafor, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at 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?”
Quoting the World Economic Forum, he noted that by 2027, about 69 per cent of global companies would accelerate their adoption of Artificial Intelligence, with the potential to displace 85 million jobs while creating 97 million new ones.
He called for urgent policy reforms and educational interventions to reposition Nigeria for the digital economy, stressing the need to embed coding, cybersecurity, digital marketing, and AI fundamentals in secondary schools and to institutionalise work-based learning through mandatory internships and apprenticeships.
Oshilaja also urged the government to create a National ICT Skills Framework aligned with international standards and driven by the Council’s guidelines
He called on government agencies to align policies and regulations to support skills development and to offer incentives to companies investing in digital training.
Meanwhile, the President of the Digital Bridge Institute, Dr David Daser, announced that the Federal Government had concluded plans to train five million Nigerian workers in Artificial Intelligence across the public and private sectors over the next three years.
He said the initiative was already underway and was receiving support 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 said the DBI, established on May 20, 2004, as a centre of excellence for ICT training, had recorded several achievements in recent months.
These include partnerships with the Small Business Training Solutions Group, the launch of the Global Training Partner Programme in Lagos, graduation of Sightsavers training cohorts in Kano and Lagos, and the commissioning of the Information Access Centre by the minister.
He acknowledged that the institute had experienced challenges in the past, including difficulties in paying staff salaries and deteriorating infrastructure, but said it had since bounced back and was rebuilding with renewed focus and determination.
