Group targets job creation with tech skills

A non-profit organisation, Varsity Mentor has disclosed plans to tackle unemployment with tech skill. The group stated this ahead of a 2-day summit themed: ‘VarsityMentor Gen AI in Computer Science Education,’ designed to equip African Universities with practical tools and strategies to align academic training with the needs of the global technology industry. The founder […]

A non-profit organisation, Varsity Mentor has disclosed plans to tackle unemployment with tech skill.

The group stated this ahead of a 2-day summit themed: ‘VarsityMentor Gen AI in Computer Science Education,’ designed to equip African Universities with practical tools and strategies to align academic training with the needs of the global technology industry.

The founder of Varsity Mentor and co-organiser of the summit, Obinna Anya, said the summit  was designed to bridge the gap of graduate unemployment and equip professors from over 45 faculties in 27 universities across 8 African countries.

“Africa has over 2,000 universities producing about three million graduates every year, yet more than 50 per cent of them never get jobs. The truth is that the jobs are not there, and the reason is the disconnect between our education system and industry requirements.

“Our goal is to ask, how can we help them to get the jobs? Where are the jobs? And how do we prepare them? This conference is focusing on university professors because they shape the future workforce,” he added.

He quoted research which states that Africa is projected to become the world’s largest workforce  by 2040.

“What are we going to do with this large workforce? This summit is our starting point. We may not have the funds to provide all the hardware now, but companies like Google are offering free training. This is just the beginning,” he said.

Co-organiser and Site Reliability Engineer at Google, Adekunle Adeyemo emphasized the need for African institutions to embrace AI as a tool for progress, allaying fears of taking over jobs. 

“AI is already here. It will not take our jobs; it will only take the jobs of those who are unprepared. Just like computers enhanced work, AI will enhance what we do if we know how to use it,” he said.

 

Organiser, Varsity Mentor GEN AI, Valerie Ehimhen, stressed that tech skills are a major requisite to job creation.

 

“Tech skills are now central to job creation, both in Nigeria and globally,” she said.

 

Vlalerie  disclosed that earlier editions were held in Ghana and Kenya for students, but this year’s focus is on universities to ensure broader impact.