The Federal Ministry of Youth Development announced plans to train 5,000 Nigerian youths to become data protection professionals as part of its ongoing efforts to create jobs.
To achieve this, the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) on Tuesday.
Note that, the NDPC’s recently released 2023 annual report disclosed that the country’s data protection industry created a total of 10,123 jobs for Nigerians last year. The NDPC stated that the number of jobs created in 2023 increased by 5.7% compared to the 9,577 jobs created in 2022. The NDPC also reported that compliance revenue rose to N325 million from N94.4 billion in 2022, and the number of verified Data Protection Officers increased from 1,928 to 1,955. Additionally, the number of investigations rose from 117 to 177 during the same period.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Hon. Minister of State for Youth Development, Engr. Ayodele Olawande, expressed his optimism about the job and wealth creation opportunities being generated by NDPC.
The Minister stated that at least 80% of human capital development under the current administration is focused on youth, and this initiative aims to equip 5,000 youths with the necessary technical skills for emerging jobs in the data protection sector.
The National Commissioner/CEO of the NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, highlighted the importance of the training, noting that there are approximately 500,000 data controllers in Nigeria, each requiring at least one data protection officer.
He noted that Nigerian youths now have a great opportunity to become professionals and take advantage of the estimated 500,000 new jobs in the ecosystem. Olatunji highlighted the importance of building trust and confidence as Nigeria transitions its economy to attract foreign direct investment. Olatunji said that with effective data protection mechanisms in place, investors would be more likely to do business in Nigeria if the country can demonstrate accountability regarding their data assets. Olatunji also stated that the Commission, in its efforts to train more Nigerians locally, has authorized the Institute of Information Management (IIM) to conduct examinations and certify data protection professionals for global competitiveness.
While some Nigerians with expertise in data protection obtained their training and certification abroad, Olatunji said that having a local institute to train and certify Nigerians would boost local content in the sector.
“In addition, we are also making sure that the subsequent certification will not be a burden on our foreign exchange. The licensed in-country certification body will issue globally recognized certificates to eligible trainees.” Dr. Olatunji stated.
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