March 07, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for ICT for Change Training programme phase 3 with with Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited.
Essentially, the ICT for Change programme seeks to train and empower 1,000 Federal Civil Servants across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). It is the second phase in the capacity building programme for federal civil servants organised by Huawei Technologies.
The first phase of the programme which was held from 14th January – 28th June, 2019, led to the training of 935 participants across 101 MDAs.
In his address during the ceremony for the signing of the MoU for ICT For Change Training Programme, phase 3, between the Federal Government and Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited, Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr Boss Mustapha, congratulated the management of Huawei Technologies and the Federal Government of Nigeria for this laudable initiative and the successful implementation of the first and second phase of this programme.
According to Mustapha, this demonstrates the Federal Government of Nigeria’s commitment to private sector partnership to propel the implementation of its policies and programmes.
The SFG informed that so far, through this training programme, about 2,000 Nigerian Youths and 1,000 Federal Civil Servants across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been trained.
He said the signing of this MoU signifies the continued healthy relations between the Federal Government and the private sector as represented by Huawei Technologies in the areas of ICT capacity development in the Federal Civil Service.
He explained that, “It is common knowledge that the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the health of global economies and brought in its wake new ways of conducting businesses including government transactions. Necessity evolved new ways and means to provide solutions based on advanced technological developments. Governments have also keyed into the upsurge in technological pursuits in science and technology.”
“The Nigerian model Civil Service has not fared differently and recognises the role of technology in the ongoing transformation of the Nigerian Civil Service. In this regard, the establishment of an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution as one of the 8 thematic areas of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, was devised as a means to digitise records and automate workflow processes to achieve an overall improvement in information sharing and collaboration across the MDAs. This, I know has been piloted in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and is being rolled out to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”
Having progressed beyond basic ICT knowledge in the earlier stage of the programme, Mr Mustapha assured that this phase will expand topics to focus on areas including: ICT Development Trends; E-Government for the Future; 5G Motivation and Industry Progress; Cyber Security Strategies; Project Management Principles and Practices; Web Design and Maintenance Training; and Microsoft Office Training etc.
“It is expected that this phase of the programme will consolidate on the gains of the last one to imbue participants with the skills to efficiently handle the demands of an increasingly digital economy transformation, e-governance and smart cities”, he added.
In his speech, Chairman/Managing Director
Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited, Trevor Liu, said Huawei Nigeria has trained over 1,000 Civil Servants from the previous years.
According to Liu, this is the second phase of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited.
He stressed that Huawei’s “ICT For Change” initiative is targeted at empowering Civil Servants with Fundamental ICT knowledge and skills, adding that the immerse training will equip them with the rapid advancement of ICT technology and the increase demand for digital transformation, e-government and smart city capabilities.
He explained that the training will significantly improve the efficiency in public service and benefit to digital economic development.
“Our target is to provide free ICT knowledge training to 1,000 Civil Servants. We sincerely thank the SGF for unwavering support to this program”, he said.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
