By SALISU SANI-IDRIS

The Federal Government has concluded arrangements to launch the Outsource To Nigeria Initiative (OTNI), a private sector-led government-enabled programme anchored by the Office of the Vice-President.

Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice-President, disclosed this at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

Hadejia explained that the initiative, which would be launched in Gombe State, was a timely and strategic public private partnership to massively scale up job creation in the country.

He said the initiative would also scale up Nigeria’s business process and Information Technology-enabled Outsourcing sector.

According to him, the Office of the Vice-President is supporting the initiative because of its huge job creation opportunities in the thriving global outsourcing market which grossed almost $350billion in 2023 for the seven top countries engaged in it.

“With over 200 million young and vibrant minds, competitive cost, strong government backing and rapidly improved digital infrastructure, Nigeria is now strong enough to be a formidable global outsourcing hub.

“The initiative offers comprehensive enablement across infrastructure, private sector incentives, talent development programme and active promotion of Nigeria’s position.

“Our dynamic private sector, with government support, is well equipped to drive Nigeria’s rise as an outsourcing giant.

“This presents an unprecedented opportunity for job creation, entrepreneurship, skills development and economic growth by bringing high value outsourcing jobs onshore,” he said.

Hadejia noted that outsourcing was one of the fastest ways of achieving job security especially for the teeming youths.

The jobs created in the sector, he said, were well-paying jobs with a rapidly growing market.

“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.

“We have the skill sets, we have the human resources – vibrant and young people- to actively participate in this sector,” he said.

Hadejia urged other governors to emulate Gombe State 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, said the initiative would begin on the March 4 simultaneously in Gombe and Kaduna States as well as in Abuja.

She said the event would mark a turning point in Nigeria’s business process and outsource sector.

According to her, no fewer than 1,000 participants in Gombe State will be gainfully employed after the training.

She said the initiative would aggregate all the talents in a Work-nation platform, based on the requirements of the domestic and international markets and then provide capacity building based on the needs of the markets.

“It will further set up centres of excellence and engage in international global branding and communication.

“This is aimed at showcasing the strengths and the capabilities of Nigerian talents for 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 requirements of the international market.

“We have created a structured training based on those needs,” Hassan said. (NAN)

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