In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu on digital economy, the Ondo state government has launched a summer holiday bootcamp to train students of secondary schools in digital skills.
The bootcamp, codenamed ‘build-a-thon’, is an initiative of the federal government through the ministry of communications, innovation and digital economy.
120 secondary school students were selected to participate in the build-a-thon, underway at the Public Service Training Institute (PSTI) in Ilara-mokin and it is expected to last for four days.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the bootcamp, the governor of Ondo state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, said his administration will continue to work with relevant government agencies and the private sector to ensure the youths are equipped with digital skills to enable them compete globally.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Olayide Adelami, urged the participants to pay attention during the bootcamp, saying the 4-day immersive training is to lay the foundation for further digital training.
He thanked President Tinubu for his “purposeful leadership” which he said has manifested in the area of ICT and digital skills acquisition, particularly the build-a-thon.
“This programme is more than just a bootcamp, it is a launchpad for our students to become ICT natives” the state commissioner for education, science and technology, Laolu Akindolire, assured.
Akindolire said the state government is on the right track in upskilling its teachers with digital skills.
In his opening remarks, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on ICT, Hon Tomide Akinribido, whose State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is coordinating the build-a-thon, commended the federal ministry of communications, innovation and digital economy for the milestone.
He said SITA is currently being positioned to implement Governor Aiyedatiwa’s agenda for the young people with respect to digital skills acquisition, among many other initiatives.