The Nigerian government has queued into the thriving global outsourcing market which has grossed almost $350billion for seven top countries that engaged in it, with a view to tapping into its huge job opportunities for the nation's teeming youths.
Accordingly, Vice President Kashim Shettima will on Monday, March 4, 2024, in Gombe State, launch the Outsource To Nigeria Initiative (OTNI), a private sector-led government-enabled programme anchored by the Office of the Vice President.
According to a statement by the spokesman of the vice president, Stanley Nkwocha, on Thursday, it was designed to create jobs in the business process and technology-enabled outsourcing sector.
The Initiative is part of efforts and determination to actualise the agenda of President Tinubu's administration on job creation.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, noted that OTNI, when successfully rolled out across the country, will be the fastest way to achieving job security for Nigeria's teeming youths.
He said the Office of the Vice President was supporting the initiative because of the huge job opportunities in the thriving global outsourcing market, which grossed almost $350billion in 2023 for the seven top countries that engaged in it.
Sen. Hadejia noted: "The jobs created in this sector are well-paying jobs, the market is growing rapidly, it is projected to grow to over half a trillion dollars by 2030. If we can get a big chunk of this market, it will not only be the alternative to oil, but probably the biggest employer of young people in the country. This is why it has the full backing of the Office of the Vice President."
"When you look at what global outsourcing partners are looking for, we are probably in a better position than even most of the countries engaged in it today. We are an English-speaking country, we now have better IT infrastructure than we had 10 years ago when the boom started. And we have the skill sets, we have the human resources - vibrant and young people to actively participate in this sector," Senator Hadejia explained.
The Deputy Chief of Staff urged other state governors to emulate Gombe and leverage the opportunity created by the OTNI launch to provide good jobs for youths in their respective states.
On her part, the founder and Chief Executive Office of Outsource Global, Mrs Amal Hassan, the promoter of the programme, said the launch of OTNI on March 4 simultaneously in Gombe, Abuja and Kaduna will mark a turning point in Nigeria's business process and outsource sector.
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She disclosed that based on the requirements of the domestic and international markets, the initiative will aggregate all the talents in a Worknation platform and then provide capacity building based on the needs of the international market. It will further set up centres of excellence, engage in international global branding and communication aimed at showcasing the strengths and the capabilities of Nigerian talents and also the deployment of the trainees to work in the international market and even the domestic market
"We are starting with training. We did a talent pool and have segregated all of the talents based on the different skill sets and the requirements of the international market and we have created a structured training based on those needs," she further said.
With OTNI expected to promote the outsourcing industry in Nigeria and create meaningful employment opportunities in the short and long term for youths with unique skill sets across different sectors, no fewer than 1,000 Nigerians in Gombe State will be gainfully employed after the training of participants.
