*Dr. Moruf Tunji Alausa, Minister for Education, explains the Federal Government has established a Digital Training Academy to bridge Nigeria’s digital skills gap, improve employability, and prepare the citizenry 10 skill areas across 36 States and FCT, to compete for opportunities in the global digital economy
Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect
The Nigerian Government has said it is equipping 32,000 Nigerians with globally competitive digital and professional skills.
The Federal Government disclosed it had committed over N10.5 billion to a new Digital Training Academy (DTA), described as an initiative aimed at equipping 32,000 Nigerians with world-class, competitive digital skills.
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Dr. Moruf Tunji Alausa, Honourable Minister for Education, said this at the official launch of the Academy, Monday, September 14, 2026, in Abuja, FCT.
ConsumerConnect reports the government said it had earlier selected 16,000 Nigerians for the academy’s inaugural cohort from 72,850 applications received between August 17 and September 1 this year.
Core objectives of DTA modules, by Minister
Highlighting the key objective of the DTA, Dr. Alausa said the programme was designed to bridge Nigeria’s digital skills gap, improve employability, and prepare the citizenry to compete for opportunities in the global digital economy.
The Minister also said the new-fangled digital initiative, implemented under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), would provide beneficiaries with free access to training through global learning platforms, including Coursera and Pluralsight.
He explained the training would cover high-demand areas, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), cybersecurity, cloud computing, software development, Information Technology (IT) automation, FinTech, product management, natural language processing, and quantum computing.
The training programme, Alausa further noted, is aimed at moving beyond training and certificates by connecting learning and certification to employment, entrepreneurship and productivity.
The Minister asserted: “Our objective here is very clear: to bridge Nigeria’s skills gap, improve employability and enable more of our citizens to take part in the digital economy.”
Training programme linked to 3MTT, NATEP
He equally disclosed that the Nigerian Government had established access centres to support beneficiaries who may not have Personal Computers (PCs), or reliable internet access across the country.
According to him, the Digital Training Academy would complement other government skills-development initiatives, particularly the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP).
He explained that Nigerians who had completed the 3MTT programme would have an opportunity to obtain globally recognised certifications through the Digital Training Academy. Likewise, NATEP could help to connect skilled Nigerians with opportunities in the international labour market.
He averred: “This is how government programmes should work: together, not in silos.”
Emphasising the inherent benefits of digital skills training for DTA, he as well urged beneficiaries to take the opportunity seriously, stressing that the government’s investment should ultimately translate into jobs, businesses, increased productivity and other economic opportunities.
Alausa also noted the government was not merely unveiling an online learning portal.
He declared: “We’re opening a new pathway to opportunities for thousands of Nigerians.”
Scope of digital skills training
The Digital Training Academy portal indicates the programme will enrol 32,000 learners and award 32,000 certificates across over 10 skill areas, with training access available across all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory.
It is also noted the Academy provides a pathway for participants to create an account using their National Identification Numbers (NINs), complete their profiles, undergo a pre-assessment and begin training, based on their results.