NITDA begins 5-day digital skills training for 50 journalists

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general of the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated a five-day capacity training programme for members of the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) in Lagos, Nigeria, TechEconomy.ng can report.

The DG said the capacity training programme aims to upskill the members of NITRA – an umbrella body for journalists reporting information and communication technology in Nigeria; to develop the digital skills of the participants for the improvement of quality of news reportage.

Abdullahi represented by Chineyere Helen Nwanwko, manager, Digital Architecture at NITDA, said that the Agency is always looking for avenues to support the improvement of trust, confidence and security on the mode of media production and delivery in the country.

“The capacity training is also aimed to provide digital capacity for the management, storage and retrieval of digital information and content security for the NITRA members; and shaping the technological understanding of the participants needed in reporting the industry and the digital skills”, he said.

The DG believes that the training will help ICT journalists in news gathering and fact-checking in this era of fake news.

Abdullahi said, “In this our dynamic ICT world, several trends such as growing digitalization, interconnectedness and convergence are often discussed by experts as well as layman, information and communication technology (ICT) journalists play significant part in disseminating, explaining and interpreting these new technologies and in facilitating our understanding of future trends, education both their audience and the developers they cover.

“Digital literacy is now more important than ever… It includes areas like online security, online communication responsibility and digital ethics.

“As most positions today require technological knowledge, organisations must provide training and education on ICT, or risk having a workforce being left behind. Employees with digital literacy, skills are more competent in their work as they easily identify important information, data, patterns, and use them efficiently. This is important because we are constantly being disrupted by new information.

“Digital literacy skills also allow workforce to use technology to collaborate and connect with each other and thus strengthens teamwork.

“In the digital economy, the failure to upskill the workforce in digital technologies could lead to companies and workforce being quickly left behind. It is therefore vital that businesses invest in nurturing a digitally literate workforce, capable of adapting to evolving technologies.

The DG said that the initiative to upskill fifty (50) journalists from NITRA is in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and the mandate of NITDA on Digital Literacy and Skills and the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2021 to 2024: To intervene in the development of digital technology by supporting, promoting and facilitating digital skills and literacy programmes and the development of innovative solutions for adoption and use in every facet of national life.

He urged the participants to apply the knowledge and practical know-how garnered from the training in their news reporting activities.

Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, chairman of NITRA thanked NITDA for sponsoring the training.

He further urged members of NITRA to embrace the opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn new skills to help them in carrying out their news reporting activities

“The essence of this capacity training is for us to upskill. We are aware that some of us have attended trainings within and outside Nigeria, however the dynamics of this industry where technology continues to evolve demands that we continue to train and retrain ourselves.

“We thought it wise to partner with an agency of the government on this project and NITDA being an outstanding agency deemed it wise to work with us.

“NITDA has been apt in its digital transformation strategy and from our observations; the processes are up to standards we see among private sector organisations”, Onwuegbuchi said.