SAP Africa Code Week (ACW) has collaborated with Niger and Taraba state government in Northern Nigeria to bring digital skills training to teachers in the region for the first time.

According to a statement from the company, between 19 and 23 August, a total of 438 teachers were trained in three locations in Niger State, namely Minna, Bida and Kotangora and 269 teachers trained in Taraba State between 27 and 30 August.

The ACW events in the region immediately followed a five-day capacity building program that was organised by Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Education in Lagos.

Facilitated by local NGO Coderina, a key partner with the FMoE in the area of digital literacy, coding and robotics, this training took place between 5 and 9 August for 228 teachers from Federal Government Schools.

Ayo Omolola, Deputy Director Technology and Science Education (TSE) of Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, representing the Director TSE, said: "Preparing our youth for the Fourth Industrial Revolution will require a concerted effort by the public and private sectors to bring more youth into the digital fold. And it all starts with our teachers, who will inspire and train a new generation of workers that will drive the country's economy over the coming decades."

Organisers point out that literacy rates, especially in rural areas of the West African country, remain low.

They cite a 2017 study which claims that only 51% of men and 34% of women living in Nigeria's rural areas have basic literacy. In Niger State, nearly 90% of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and the use of technology in classrooms is severely limited.

According to a World Economic Forum report on the future of jobs and skills in Africa, educators across the continent should design future-ready curricula that encourage critical thinking, creativity and emotional intelligence while also advancing digital and STEM skills to prepare the continent's workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The same report found that nearly half (46%) of all work activities in Nigeria are susceptible to automation.

Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility and Africa Code Week Global Lead at SAP, said that public-private partnerships are key to building digital skills training capacity across Africa: "The Africa Code Week Train-the-Trainer program is designed to equip teachers with the skills and tools they need to prepare the continent's growing youth population for the future workforce, and also trigger their enthusiasm and excitement over the possibilities offered to them by the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

Africa Code Week was launched in the beginning of September 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, with a commitment by organisers to introduce 1.5 million African youth to digital skills this year.