Chucks Official, a student at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) Center, has been named the winner in the category of digital skill innovation at the SkillupImo Challenge’s first event in Owerri.
The State Commissioner, Ministry of Digital Economy and E-Government, Dr. Chimezie Amadi, who spoke in Owerri, the state capital, while presenting cash prize to the winner ‘SkillUpImo Challenge’, a sub-initiative of SkillUp Imo, a broader and premier human capacity development programme launched by the state government last December, said the Skillup Imo Challenge will accelerate the actuation of broader objectives of the Skillup Imo.
According to him, the Imo State government has developed plans that will lead to the training of 300,000 youths of the state in digital skills acquisition over the next three years, creating wealth and a good life for the people.
He stated the overall goals are to train 300,000 Imolites over the course of the next three years, with 100,000 trained each year; to place 60% of the graduates in well-paying jobs; and to enable 40% of the graduates to become their own bosses by, among other things, becoming tech entrepreneurs and starting their own businesses.
The main goal of the SkillUp Imo Project, anticipated to be driven by the SkillUpImo Challenge focuses on equipping Imo residents, also referred to as Imolites, with cutting-edge digital skills that will keep them relevant in the twenty-first century.
According to Amadi, as the training of the first batch of 100,000 youths progresses this year under the Skillup Imo Project, which aims to train 300,000 over the next three years, the sub-initiative, SkillUp Imo Challenge has been created to sustain the interest of the youth and boost excitement in the digital skill acquisition programme.
Amadi said through the SKillUpImo Challenge, a student stands the chance of winning cash or other forms of prizes each week for demonstrating great commitment to learning and putting good efforts to show workings of skills learnt.
He also stated that the first batch of 5,000 students from the 100,000 that will be trained this year will graduate by the end of January 2023, to immediately bring onboard the next batch of beneficiaries of the digital skills acquisition programme for training.
While lauding the students on their seriousness and diligence exhibited so far, the Commissioner encouraged the youths to do more and be more.
“Be more of a doing person than a talking person. The SkillUpImo Project is all about creating content that can be marketed using digital tools that the public is able to embrace, consume and pay for,” he said.
Amadi promised that the Senator Hope Uzodinma-led administration would soon realize its vision of making Imo State the Digital Skills Hub of Africa with the Project’s ongoing implementation. He is ready to offer the necessary assistance and resources to help the project’s ambitious goal of fostering the digital economy.
