Prominent social enterprise in the Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) sector, the Paradigm Initiative, has trained
some 667 youth on ICT and entrepreneurship for the record year 2017, reports ITRealms.
This, ITRealms gathered
was contained in the 2017 Annual Report of the organization released recently
to the public.
ITRealms also
reports that the Lagos-based organisation operates three training centres in
Ajegunle (Lagos), Aba (Abia) and Dakata (Kano) on LIFE programme dedicated to
empowering young people in underserved communities with life-changing skills,
ICT, financial readiness and entrepreneurship skills.
The LIFE programme, which took off in Ajegunle in 2007, ITRealms gathered has now trained over
5, 000 in its eleven years of existence.
In 2017 alone, Paradigm Initiative graduated 248 trainees
who successfully completed the 10-week intensive training programme at its
three centres.
Equally, the organisation said, it trained another 96
through its newly-introduced LIFE@School programme. While yet another 332
female beneficiaries participated in various digital readiness workshop
organised by the organisation.
“This brought the total number of beneficiaries of Paradigm
Initiative’s digital inclusion efforts in 2017 to 667,” says the Communication
Officer at Paradigm Initiative, Sodiq Alabi.
For the Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative, Gbenga
Sesan, was quoted in a press statement made available to ITRealms as saying “While
our focus is on impact and not numbers, we are glad to see that more
under-served youth are getting connected to opportunities through our digital
inclusion and digital rights programs.”
The Digital Inclusion programme manager, Tosin Abolaji,
noted that as for many of the trainees, the LIFE programme is their first
productive contact with a computer system.
“Within ten weeks, we introduce them to the use of computer,
Office Suite, web and graphics design, and programming languages, among other
things. They leave our centres with useful skills that have seen many alumni’s
earning ability improved significantly. We give them a solid foundation that
could be leveraged for a career in the ICT sector or outside it,” Abolaji said.
“We don’t just provide free training. We also follow up with
alumni to help them put their newly-acquired skill/knowledge to productive use.
For instance, 15 of our 2016 trainees got internship opportunities while 147 of
them are now using their skills as employees or as entrepreneurs. This is the
kind of impact we live for,” Abolaji said.
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