Nigeria’s Federal Government has joined forces with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to offer paid internships to 3,000 participants enrolled in the 3 million Technical Training (3MTT) initiative.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, officially announced the partnership, setting the launch of the program’s inaugural cohort on 15th November 2023.
Despite one million applications, the first phase of the 3MTT program, which aims to train three million Nigerians within the next four years, will start with an initial figure of 30,000. Notifications for the selected participants are expected to be sent out soon.
Dr. Tijani highlighted that the partnership with UNDP would provide practical opportunities for the trained participant to apply the skills they have acquired during the program. In LinkedIn post, the Minister stated, “We are pleased to announce a partnership with the UNDP to offer 3,000 paid internships to our 3MTT fellows. These 12 month internships will help fulfill our objectives to ensure that participants in the 3MTT programme get placed in roles that allow them apply the skills they learn in the programme.”
The selection process for the 3,000 internship beneficiaries has not been disclosed, leaving it unclear whether they will be drawn from the initial 30,000 cohort or distributed across subsequent program batches.
Nigeria’s collaboration with UNDP follows the government’s earlier agreement with IHS Telecom, which committed N1 billion in funding to support the program and cover salaries for 37 dedicated learning community managers at each location over the next three years.
Dr. Tijiani outlined that the skills imparted in the initial phase of the program focus on various non-tech creation roles that leverage technology. These skills include digital marketing, project management software, cloud platform navigation, data analysis and visualisation, search engine optimization (SEO), CRM management, accounting software, graphics design, and UX/UI design.
3MTT is positioned to bring about societal upliftment, and also have a transformative impact on Nigeria’s employment rates and skill empowerment. The program’s localised approach to skill development, including funding provisions and dedicated learning community managers, shows its commitment to nurturing talent at the grassroots level, ultimately strengthening both individual skills and the fabric of local communities.
