NO COMPUTER SKILL, NO PROMOTION, FG TELLS WORKERS

ABUJA— The Federal Government has ordered civil servants in the country to develop computer skills or forfeit their promotions.

The government said the order became necessary because it would soon switch from biro-to-paper examinations to computer-based exams for onward promotions and advancement in the civil service.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, HoS, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, gave the order in an interview with journalists in Abuja shortly after she rewarded 12 civil servants for their punctuality and commitment to work.

Ghanaian NITA says IT professionals to be licensed

The National Information Technology Agency (NITA) says plans are underway to license all information technology (IT) professionals in the country to bring sanity into the profession.

 

The Director-General of the Agency, Mr Atta-Boateng explained that just as the Ghana Medical Association issues licences to medical doctors before they could practice in the country, the Agency in collaboration with the IT Association of Ghana would issue licences to all IT professionals operating in the country.

Skills shortage weighs down ICTs contribution to economic growth

Following the dramatic rise in the adoption of Information Communications Technology (ICT) by individuals, businesses and government, Nigeria is facing an unprecedented shortage of skilled professionals required to support such massive infrastructure deployment.

Industry observers are of the view that the current skills gap could hinder the sector’s contribution to economic growth, considering efforts by government to diversify the economy from oil.

They attribute the skills shortage to poor training in universities and other higher institutions of learning, lack of exposure to high-tech equipment, outdated curriculum, low awareness of latest ICT trends, and the  slowness of the youth to pursue industry training and certifications. 

ICT tools providing mobile money for agribusinesses

ICT-based agricultural financing/mobile money services are no doubt the result of firm collaboration between finance institutions such as banks and telecoms companies. Industry watchers have however observed that in African countries where it has been highly successful, the telecoms company rather than the bank leads the partnership. This model has led to massive usage by rural dwellers who constitute the greater percentage of the unbanked and who are engaged mainly in farming and other agribusinesses.

Below are highlights of some agric financing tools that have been tested and proven in East African countries and some other countries.

· Credit Information Sharing (CIS) system is a mechanism through which various lenders electronically pool and pull borrower information using centralised (credit reference bureau) databases, with the aim of addressing information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders.

But CIS will enable farmers to build a credit history for negotiating better credit terms. This is similar to the credit bureau system in Nigeria but in this case it is specifically for farmers or agribusiness investors.