Lagos trains undergraduates in business, digital skills

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and digital technologies for economic growth, development, and improved governance.

The governor stated this at the closing ceremony of the Ministry of Tertiary Education’s Job Initiative Lagos training programme, according to a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, Mamud Hassan, obtained on Thursday.

Sanwo-Olu, who was represented at the event on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, emphasised that the JIL was more than just a training programme, adding that “It is a movement empowering students and youths to transform the economy and build a better future.”

According to him, the initiative aims to address unemployment among graduates in the state by providing comprehensive training in areas like business creation, digital technologies, communication skills, fundamentals of employability, financial management, coding and entrepreneurship.

He said this aligned with his vision for Lagos to become a hub for technological advancement in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The governor told the over 500 participants drawn from the five tertiary institutions of the state for the three-week intensive training that by investing in programmes like Job Initiative Lagos, the state government demonstrated its dedication to making Lagos a leader in technological advancement and economic growth.

He said, “With Job Initiative Lagos, undergraduates in state-owned tertiary institutions can acquire industry-recognised skills, entrepreneurial mindsets, and innovative thinking to thrive in the 21st-century workforce.”

Addressing participants at the venue, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, expressed his delight at the programme’s achievements.

“Today marks the culmination of our collective efforts to empower our youths with industry-recognised skills, entrepreneurial mindset, and innovative thinking,” he said.

According to Tolani, the entrepreneurial aspect of the training effectively bridged the gap between academia and industry, with testimonies from participants being encouraging and inspiring.

He assured the trainees that the state government remained committed to investing in infrastructure and quality tertiary education, ensuring that its youths were equipped to navigate the complexities of the 21st-century workforce.