DIGITAL DESIGN SKILLS TRAINING

To establish an ICT and digital design Academy in one of the impoverish states in Nigeria. Youth from slum communities will be made to undergo a training for the duration of a 12 months which will be broken into three professional stages.

The ICT sector offers great job opportunities in Nigeria and the world, but numerous individuals often miss the right skills.This challenge provides an opportunity for growth in Nigeria where according to the National Bureau of Statistics, unemployment rose to a staggering 25% in 2016. This dire situation places an urgency for interventions that bring about financial inclusion and pathways to employment.  

The aim is expand the established EKOBITS ICT and setup BITS Schools in one of the most vulnerable states. Focus will be vulnerable girls and boys from camps for internally displaced people and those living in slums

Throughout the years, Bits schools have together trained over 8,000 young people (45% girls). More than 80% gained employment or started a business themselves. Bits alumni give guest lectures and perform at events such as TEDX and “eLearning Africa”. As such, they inspire new students and set in motion a wider positive change in their communities. Thanks to this success the concept has even been honoured with several internationally recognised awards.

www.bitsacademy.org

Desired Impact: 

60 disadvantaged youth per year 

10 shantytowns, slum communities and camps for people displaced by internal conflict in one of the states in the North Eastern part of Nigeria.

Co-creation expresses the idea that ''none of us is as smart as all of us'' by involving stakeholders at all stages of the development process, it ensures a strong sense of ownership and workable practical solutions. - 60 beneficiaries which can be increased

Monitoring and Evaluation: to determine the monitoring targets, results, changes and challenges by half year report, full year report and the number of visits. - Three stages of the program ( getting connected, digital garage, media lab)

To train young people, preparing them for employability and entrepreneurship and connecting them to good jobs to enable them have good source of income and good source of living.

The team consists of individuals who have years of experience in contributing to youth development including setting up the first BITS School in Nigeria (Ekobits) as part of the Work In Progress! Alliance where Oxfam is the lead partner. 

The ICT Academy will be established in the community where youth can easily have access to.

Trainers with experience in ICT and digital design skills will be deployed to train the students.

At the end of the training, beneficiaries would have acquired releveant skills in graphics design, web design and development, photography and video editing.  

Each BITS school is part of the Global BITS Sustainability programme where we jointly and individually seek funds to continuously support the activities of the BITS school. Possibilities of generating additional income would be; 

a.      Providing similar training for paying students 

b.      Giving back by alumni with paying jobs- either in cash or in hours to spend time on paid assignments.  

c.       Start a design wing-paying assignments for clients.  

d.      Partnership with local Government 

e.      Use computers and internet connection, cyber café also for paid customer.  

To reduce the rate of unemployment among youth

To restore the confidence among many young Nigeria youth

To improve the socio - economic prospect among the youth.

Oxfam Novib

Poise Nigeria

Butterfly Works

Education Development Centre (EDC)