The Executive Director and Lead Consultant of Jos Business School (JBS), Nde Ezekiel Gomos, has urged graduates of its digital skills programme to continually update their knowledge and embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) to remain relevant in the rapidly changing digital economy.
Gomos spoke during the IDEAS Digital Gateway Pitch Competition and graduation ceremony, themed, “From Skills to Solutions: Building the Future Through Innovation,” held at the Jos Business School in Plateau State on Saturday.
He said more than 1,000 participants had been trained through the partnership between JBS and N-Hub under the IDEAS project, with the programme implemented in two cohorts.
According to him, the IDEAS project was introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education with support from the World Bank, while JBS partnered with N-Hub to provide digital skills training to young people in Plateau State.
“The IDEAS project, as you are aware, is a digital skills project and was introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education with support from the World Bank.”
“When we bid for it, we were told to seek partners, and the best partner we could find in this town was N-Hub because, in terms of providing opportunities for young people to learn digital skills, N-Hub was the first hub in Northern Nigeria,” he said.
Gomos said the first cohort comprised 544 participants, made up of 246 males and 298 females, including 32 persons living with disabilities and some victims of human trafficking.
“We are proud to say that many of these people in the first cohort who graduated wrote their certification examinations and passed,” he said.
“Some of them have become employees, some are self-employed, some have got jobs, while some were already working before they joined us.”
“That is the whole idea, for people to use their skills to enhance themselves.”
He disclosed that about 525 participants were trained under the second cohort, bringing the number trained through the JBS partnership to more than 1,000.”
Gomos said the training, which lasted for about three months for each cohort, covered various areas of the digital economy, including data analysis, data science, digital marketing, graphic and web design, cybersecurity, programming and computer networking.”
“We want to thank the World Bank for providing the funding that enabled us to pay the trainers and also provide the training for each and every one of you,” he said.
The JBS executive director urged the graduates not to abandon the skills acquired during the programme, stressing that the digital sector was constantly evolving.
“I am sure you are not going to forget the skills because you need them for life.”
“The skills are also changing every time. None of the skills you learn will remain the same. You have to update yourself and keep on learning. That is the idea here,” he said.
Gomos said the emergence of AI had further transformed the digital space and made continuous learning imperative for professionals.
“At the time you did this training, AI was just being introduced. AI was just fresh.”
Only a few knew what AI was.
“But today, if you don’t know AI, then you are lost. Almost everything is now AI-driven,” he said.
He urged the participants to understand how AI was affecting the various fields in which they had acquired skills.”
“You don’t just sit back and say, ‘I need data science.’ No. You must know how AI affects data science and all the other aspects,” he added.
Gomos, who is also the Director-General of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, challenged the graduates to develop innovative ideas capable of addressing societal challenges, particularly in the areas of governance and security.”
“If you have outstanding skills that you think I might need, don’t hesitate to contact me, because we need very, very outstanding skills.”
The ceremony also featured goodwill messages from the Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, PLASCHEMA, the Plateau State Microfinance Development Agency, PLASMIDA, and other organisations.
Certificates were presented to the graduating participants at the ceremony.
Gomos congratulated the graduates and urged them to apply the knowledge acquired during the programme to create opportunities for themselves and contribute to the development of their communities.
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