A review of Nigeria's plan to train 3 million Tech Talent (3MTT) by 2027

Countries increasingly view technology as a critical part of their strategy for progress. This expectation has led governments worldwide to focus on building an educated and technologically skilled population, ensuring enough people are developing and using technologies to boost the economy. As a result, nations are implementing initiatives to strengthen their tech education programs, especially for young people.

However, not every nation is equally equipped to face the challenge of developing an educated workforce. According to ManpowerGroup, a global talent shortage already exists, with 75% of employers reporting challenges in filling roles. A Korn Ferry study projects this shortage will increase with an expected global human talent shortage of 85 million people by 2030. Left unchecked, in 2030, that talent shortage could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual revenues.

The demographic decline in several nations significantly contributes to the existing and forecasted talent shortage. Despite the global population surpassing eight billion in 2022, the United Nations predicts dozens of countries will have shrinking populations by 2050. Low birth rates coupled with an aging population mean a decline in the total population of many nations. This situation is most pronounced in Europe and East Asia. Countries like Japan, China and most of Europe are already seeing a decline in their population, which is expected to continue.

According to the United Nations World Population Prospectus (2024), over half of the world’s economies, accounting for two-thirds of the global population, now have fertility rates below the replacement fertility level of 2.1 children per woman, which is required to maintain its population.

In contrast to these areas of the world, Africa has the youngest population worldwide, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa have maintained high fertility rates. Statista reports that as of 2023, around 40 per cent of Africa’s population was aged 15 years and younger, compared to a global average of 25 per cent, and the continent has a median age of about 20 years.

Nigeria, in particular, with an estimated 219 million individuals in 2022, is forecasted to grow to over 380 million people by 2050. As of 2023, Nigeria also had a median age of approximately 18.1 years, making it one of the youngest populations in the world.

It is against this backdrop of opportunity that Nigeria has launched its 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program to harness the potential presented by the country’s demography.

The 3MTT

The 3 Million Technical Talent program is an initiative by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy “aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent backbone to power the digital economy and position Nigeria as a net talent exporter“. The program’s first phase kicked off in December 2023. As the name implies, the goal is to train 3 million Nigerians in any of twelve technical areas. (AI/Machine learning, Animation, Cloud Computing, UI/UX Design, Data Analysis & Visualization, Data Science, DevOps, Game Development, Product Management, Quality Assurance, Software Development, Cybersecurity)

The program intends to train these three million Nigerians by 2027 in three mon lon courses. The program is part of the steps to realise the President’s vision of creating 2 million digital jobs by 2025. At inception in 2023, 30,000 participants were trained in the program’s first phase. The second phase is expected to train an additional 270,000 participants in batches of 60,000, 90,000 and 120,000.

The program’s implementation is spread across four domains: Online Learning, Physical Applied Learning, Soft Skills and Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Challenges + Hackathons. The combination of these four domains is expected to deliver the best value for the participants.

The Online Learning portion of the program provides the learners with self-paced learning from online EdTech platforms through curated courses. In the Physical Applied learning phase, the learners partner with physical training institutions nationwide to facilitate project-based learning for real-life application of their acquired skills. The Soft Skills and Entrepreneurship domain aims to equip the learners with the additional non-technical skills required to thrive in the workplace or entrepreneurship, delivered through webinars and physical events. While the Innovation Challenge + Hackathon portion has participants developing solutions to real-life problems in their local communities/regions. Learners can submit their projects or solutions for a chance to win laptops, tablets and portable routers.

The current implementation of the program received 1.78M applications, with successful participants randomly selected from the pool of applicants. 67% of the applicants had completed Tertiary education, while 31.6% had secondary education or below.

The Good

Phased Approach

The breakup of the implementation into phases allows the program administrators to learn from previous batches of learners for continuous improvement. This will allow the program structure to be fine-tuned and implementation improved through stakeholder feedback. It will also ensure that further resources are not expended in areas of the program that are not deemed productive.

Good start for the future

The 3MTT is a commendable step by Nigerian policymakers in recognition of the need to train the nation’s youth. This is especially important given Nigeria’s context, where education, like many other sectors, has been neglected by successive governments. The program’s establishment is also evidence that the government acknowledges the possible economic benefits that technology can provide. Nigeria’s policymakers are wise to implement these types of programs if the nation is to wean itself off its dependence on oil revenues in the coming years.

Complementary skills and multiple training domains

The program recognises that learners require more than technical skills to function in the workplace or start up a successful business and provides these soft skills to the learners in addition to the core technical skills. Webinars and other resources under the soft skills and entrepreneurship domain are available to learners, covering topics such as interviewing and presentation, goal setting, marketing strategies and others. These resources equip learners with the essential skills to thrive in the modern workplace and the changing work environment. In addition, exposure to real-world applications through the innovation challenges and hackathons also provides an avenue for the participants to learn and practice problem-solving, presentation and teamwork skills that they might not have experienced.

Possible areas of improvement

Learner support during the training program

According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s poverty rate in 2023 was estimated at 38.9%, with 87 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, making Nigeria the world’s second-largest poor population after India. With these statistics, it is clear that many of the selected participants for the program will struggle with resources to take advantage of the training. Their challenges might range from having an appropriate device for online training to affording the high cost of internet connectivity. This financial hurdle will distract from their ability to be fully immersed in the program. Also, given that the skills being trained for under the 3MTT are highly technical, developing proficiency will depend on access to resources and constant practice. Support in the form of subsidised laptops is crucial if these skills are to be developed and maintained. The device support should also be coupled with subsidised Internet access, given the high cost of Internet connectivity in Nigeria. This support will ensure the program participants can achieve the skill level required to be effective against their counterparts globally.

Post-training support and internships

The 3MTT does not have guaranteed internship or job placement at the end of the program for participants. Neither does it provide an obvious system for giving grants to support entrepreneurship. It also does not provide support to acquire devices or services, such as cloud computing credits, that might be required for a startup. This lack of support limits the impact of the skills acquired, given the stated aims of the program. Part of the program’s funding should be directed towards providing this support either directly from the government or in partnership with incubation hubs.

For those participants who are interested in internships, the Ministry can partner with other government agencies to deploy the successful learners into their technology departments. Also, technology-focused agencies and partners like NIGCOMSAT and Galaxy Backbone, as well as state ministries of information technology, can provide internship placements.

Beyond local internship opportunities, the government must also provide the necessary exposure to international opportunities if the goal of being a “net exporter” of talent is to be met. For example, the Chinese Scholarship Council signed a cooperation agreement establishing internship programs with UNESCO, UNJCR, UNDP and IFAD. The Nigerian government can develop similar relationships with private and non-private organisations worldwide to kick-start this pipeline.

Participant selection and complementary programs

The 3MTT is designed to be a one-size-fits-all vehicle for technical skill supply, as seen by the current selection process. This is evident in the distribution of participants across those with tertiary education and those with secondary education and below. The random selection from a pool of applicants also shows an openness to admitting learners with all skill levels. For the stated outcomes, the 3MTT program is expected to produce advanced skilled individuals who already have fundamental technical knowledge prior to joining the program. Therefore, there should be a selection process with minimum criteria for participants. Concurrently, the government should invest in other complementary programs for basic and intermediate skills. In essence, the 3MTT cannot exist in a vacuum and expect to produce all skill levels required for the nation’s technology community.

Other areas, such as the length of the program, the verification and selection of physical training partners to ensure they can provide the learners with the required training, and acquiring certification as part of the program, also need improvement.

Overall, the 3MTT program has the potential to achieve its goals of boosting the local technology ecosystem and making Nigeria a valued player globally. To achieve this, in addition to the areas of improvement listed above, which are not exhaustive, proper program execution is also crucial. Continuous improvement must be achieved through regular feedback from learners, training providers, administrators, and other stakeholders. A strong governance structure is also required to monitor the program execution, participant statistics such as completion rate and reasons for dropouts. Regular evaluation of each completed batch should also occur, leading to the evolution of the training domains and content. The 3MTT should be viewed as part of the starting point of Nigeria’s journey toward a technology-backed economy with additional building blocks to be added in the coming years.