In alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to generate one million digital jobs in the Information Technology sector, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has partnered with Coursera, inviting applications from interested Nigerians for Cohort 3 of Coursera courses.
This initiative, launched on October 19, 2022, aims to address the high rates of youth unemployment, which stood at 19.6% in 2021. The collaborative effort between NITDA and Coursera intends to train 8,000 Nigerian learners annually in cohorts of 4,000 learners each, totaling 24,000 over three years.
Coursera, a global online learning platform, provides selected learners with access to world-class educational content from top universities and industry leaders such as Yale, Meta, Google, and IBM. The platform supports the Nigerian government’s objective of enhancing the technical capabilities of the country’s youths and developing Information Technology talent.
Partnering with Coursera grants Nigerian learners access to Coursera’s Professional Certificates portfolio, designed to empower learners to acquire skills necessary for industry certification exams or to launch a career in specific fields, such as IT support, within three months.
Coursera’s 32 Professional Certificates are tailored to facilitate entry into high-growth careers, including Data Analytics (Google), Social Media Marketing (Meta), and Software Developer (IBM). These roles are expected to contribute significantly to the growth of the Nigerian labor market, with projections indicating the creation of 3 million digital jobs in the next four years.
Key Highlights from Previous Cohorts:
- A total of 8,000 learners graduated from Cohort 1 (4,000) and Cohort 2 (4,000) in the first year of the partnership.
- Beneficiaries include students, government workers, entrepreneurs, and academics.
- In the two cohorts, there were 43,745 enrollments in different courses, with learners completing 16,374 courses—an average of five courses per learner.
- Skill distribution based on three domains: Computer Science (31.83%), Business (35.73%), and Data Science (32.44%).
- Learners provided positive feedback with an average rating of 4.8/5.0, indicating enthusiasm for digital up-skilling on the Coursera Platform.
- Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria, has the world’s highest year-on-year average growth rate for people enrolling in professional courses, ranking third globally, according to a study by Business Insider Africa.
The focus of Cohort 3 skills aligns with the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy’s 3 Million Tech Talent (3MTT) initiative.
The skills include:
- Software Development
- UI/UX Design
- Data Analysis & Visualisations
- Quality Assurance
- Product Management
- Data Science
- Animation
- AI / Machine Learning
- Cyber Security
- Game Development
- Cloud Computing
- Dev Ops
Interested Nigerians are encouraged to apply through the official application link. Applications opened on January 24, 2024, and the program is set to commence on February 10, 2024.
