Prioritise Digital Skills Not Certificates, Minister Urges NCS

Emma Okonji

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, yesterday urged the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for all computer professionals and practitioners in the country to prioritise digital skills and not certificates.

This, he said would help to identify technology savvy individuals that have skills to drive digital transformation across the country.

Pantami who spoke during a breakfast meeting at the ongoing NCS International Conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said Nigeria lost out in the first, second, and third industrial revolutions and must ensure that the country participates fully in the fourth industrial revolution that is tilted towards soft skills.

According to him, soft skills were required for the fourth industrial revolution, saying the NCS must begin to accept people with digital skills as their potential members, without laying so much emphasis on certificates.

“NCS must expand its scope of membership to include persons with digital skills who may not necessarily have certificates from tertiary institutions of learning. Certification is good but certificates only validate the skills acquired.

“A situation where someone has the certificate and does not have the required digital skills, is a misfit, but a combination of certificate and digital skills makes it more appropriate, because people with digital skills can develop ideas and digital solutions that will drive digital transformation and smart city initiative,” Pantami said.

Citing the theme of the NCS International Conference: ‘Smart, Secure and Sustainable Nation’, Pantami identified some critical soft skills that could drive digital innovation to include: Critical Thinking, Analytical Thinking, Collaborative Thinking and Creative Thinking.

Responding, the past College of Fellows and past Presidents of NCS, corroborated with the minister on the need to expand the scope of NCS membership to include persons with digital skills.

One of the past Presidents, Prof. Charles Uwadia, promised that the NCS as an advocacy group would continue to adopt emerging technologies that would support technology innovation and digital transformation.

Declaring the conference open, the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, said the state had initiated various technology projects that are driving technology innovation and digital transformation in the state.

In his opening remarks, the President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, said: “The whole world is currently introducing and implementing smart technologies for sustainable national development. This year’s theme was strategically chosen to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the smooth implementation of smart and intelligent systems in Nigeria.”