By Ayodele Johnson

A renewed drive to harness youth has got the Federal Government’s information and technology ministry coming up with the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme. It is an ongoing move in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to groom the skills that matter for a prosperous prospect that Nigeria is anticipating. The government knows that no matter the crisis it is weathering through, there is a pool of skilled workers ready to hatch so it wants to catch them when they are fresh.

This initiative is in its first phase and it has unfolded quite a bit. When selections are made, the programme would sponsor fellows to study a field for three months but the fellowship only covers just that. Nothing relating to food or transportation stipends will be included.

Being the most populous black nation on earth isn’t just number statistics – all the figures need to start counting for something which is what 3MTT is all about. The programme aims to build “Nigeria’s technical talent backbone to power our digital economy and position Nigeria as a net talent exporter”, so in which areas can participants start to showcase themselves?

Fellows, training providers, placement organisations and partners all make the 3MTT tooling mix. This pictures a professional seeking to grow talent, the learning institute that will enable such, as well as where they will be applied once they have acquired skill, and the strategic stakeholders with technical prowess.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy is Dr Bosun Tijani and he has shown a data box of how the sorting of applications has been going. A view of his 3MTT dashboard has revealed over one million registrations so far and there is more to come. To know if this programme is strongly suited to your post, you ought to find out about the skills in focus feature which is considering opportunities in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Software Development, Animation, Data Science and there is so much more.

Over 1m applications for #3MTT – #technation loading. Look out for news on steps in your mailbox within the next 12hrs. pic.twitter.com/WfCUHXLjqJ

— Dr. 'Bosun Tijani (@bosuntijani) November 6, 2023

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To be a part of this making of history that is peculiar to active, vibrant Nigerian youths, there are things you must provide, so here is a run-through to make sure that your mind is prepared.

• Bio Data: This is the basic information that you will be giving. It would involve your full name, gender, age and the state a would-be fellow originates from. These are the simple details that any government seeks to know about their citizens.
• Contact Information: After the introduction is the request to provide a bit more about how to reach you through a field of personal contact information like the email address and phone number, to which future correspondences will be sent.
• Background Skills & Employment status: Now, tell 3MTT where you have studied, the level you developed in your education and whether you are employed. These and other minor bits are what this field will be asking from you.
• Training Program Choices: Here, the programme wants to know the courses you will be interested in and how much you rate yourself in terms of proficiency. This helps to assign you to the best course of study.
• Confirmation: You weren’t thinking it, were you – that the registration to enter a government-run initiative such as 3MTT will be concluded without first asking for ID? Well, here you will need to submit while hoping to get this wrapped up. Make sure you have your bank verification number or at least your National Identification Number and then you can click “Yes, I agree” and submit.

It is the same parameter for the training providers although an expanded one.

They will need to offer proof of their eligibility to render a service and must go through major requirements such as the capacity to deliver training, the course they are proposing and the infrastructure in existence. Be it the fellow, trainer or other posts, Nigeria will shine much brighter with all these parts coming together.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.