Akwa Ibom government in partnership with the Federal Government has announced plans to train 3,627 youths in digital marketing as part of efforts to equip the participants with basic skills and tools to improve their lives.

Nse Udo Essien, commissioner for science and technology who made this known in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital said the youths were drawn from the 31 local government areas of the state adding that the selection was done by the state ministry of youths and sports.

Essien  who said the programme is a brain child of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) added that it would be facilitated by Google Nigeria through its vendor; Mind the Gap on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.

“The programme will offer participants a wide range of practical workshops on digital campaigns, social media and content creation in addition to training on Google search, Adword, You Tube and Analytics,’’ he said.

According to him, the key objectives of the training include bridging the digital skills gap, job creation, digital skills transfer, targeting the poor and vulnerable unemployed and owners of youth in Small and Medium Scale businesses.

While thanking the Federal Government “for this great initiative,” he commended Governor Udom Emmanuel for “the generous provision towards the implementation of the training programme.”

Speaking, Bassey Essang,  a representative of Google Nigeria said the youths should move important from merely having  awareness about  the social media to the position of acquiring  knowledge and mastery of the digital space pointing to enable earn income from digital marketing skills.

Essang  said the training would help to bridge the digital gap while  assisting  Small and Medium Enterprises  to be  taken to the digital space to enable them grow their businesses and make profit for themselves.

He explained that though the training will “be an entry level programme” participants would be provided with post training platforms for further engagement and hoped that it would impact positively on the lives of the youths.

A total of 117 youths selected from each of the 31 local government areas are taking part in the training programme.

Culled from: Business Day Online
Image Credit: DigitalVidya.com