CLICK-ON KADUNA DIGITAL SKILLS REPORT January 2020 in partnership with CLICK ON KADUNA DIGITAL SKILLS PROGRAM REPORT 02 | 03 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 4 3.7 Program Results 41 Acronyms 11 3.7.1 Participant Results 42 Introduction 13 3.4.2 Selection of Participant Profiles 43 2.0 Project Background 15 3.8 Program Outputs and Outcomes 48 2.1 Nigeria – Kaduna State 16 3.9 Lessons Learned 56 2.2 ICT Sector – Opportunities in the Virtual Economy 17 3.7 Conclusions and Next Steps 60 2.3 Digital Jobs in Nigeria – Kaduna State Program 19 4.0 Annexes 62 3.1 Program Design 21 4.1 Syllabus 62 3.1.2 Program Design Considerations, Factors 4.1.1 Importance of the Curriculum Roadmap 64 and Themes 21 4.1.2 Structure of the Curriculum Roadmap 66 3.1.3 Digital Skills Structure and Methodology 22 4.2 M&E Data 68 3.1.4 Program Objectives and Target Audience 23 4.3 LMS 74 3.1.4.1 Target Audience 25 3.2 Program Call for Applications 26 3.2.1 Selection Process and Outreach 26 3.2.2 Selection Process Results 30 3.3 Planning for Course Selection 31 3.3.1 Programming & Tech 35 3.3.2 Digital Marketing, Graphics & Design 31 3.4 Program Team 31 3.4.2 Instructors 31 3.4.3 Teaching Assistants 31 3.5 Partners 32 3.6 Program Communications 35 3.6.1 Communication Objectives 36 3.6.2 Communication Strategy 36 3.6.3 Messaging and Dispatch Strategy 37 3.6.4 Communications Activity and Work Plan 37 3.6.5 Communication Results 40 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The shifting dynamism of the modern jobs and (Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics, 2017). entrepreneurial landscape is providing a critical defining moment for countries with large youthful populations, Despite these challenges, Kaduna is considered as the especially across Sub-Saharan Africa . As an epitome of gateway of the North with a young working age and consumer innovation and collaboration across a borderless global population and it is one of the fastest reforming states in marketplace ensues, the growing skills gap between the Nigeria attracting foreign direct investments of USD 500 demand for digital skills from the industry and the mismatched million in the last two years. These new investments cut across skills supply from our traditional “brick and mortar” university various sectors such as agriculture, vehicle assembly, ICT and the curriculum, provides both a challenge and an opportunity. hospitality sectors . These new investments require the right type Moreover, there is a need to interact with digital platforms to of skills to re-energize the Kaduna economy given the relatively create economic potentials in a new way since the skills of the high literacy rate of 47% (NBS, 2017). To understand the demand last decade are no longer enough to succeed in today’s job for digital skills across these new investments, Click-On Kaduna opportunities. launched an ecosystem assessment and skills gap survey to measure how the supply side of skills matched the demand side Kaduna State provides a very interesting case study as an required by industry across both Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos. The FCV area. It is a major target for Boko Haram terrorist results of the assessment highlighted the growing skills gap and attacks ranging from bombing to kidnapping. According to also the opportunities and pathways available for young people to the Kaduna Bureau of Statistics, Kaduna has a population of participate in the formal economy. 8.9 million with 79% of the population living in rural areas. Also, it has a very large youth population with 75% of the In order to leverage this change in paradigm, the Rockefeller population estimated to be under the age of 35 , thus creating a Foundation, Kaduna State Government and the World Bank demographic dividend where the working age population is partnered under the “Digital Jobs in Nigeria – Kaduna State more than the non-working age population. However, this large Program” and organized the “Click-On Kaduna Program” to youth population is mostly unemployed or underemployed due leverage opportunities within the digital space and to position to several factors, creating a potential risk for a demographic Kaduna as a regional hub for technology innovation. curse, especially as it relates to conflict and violence, if nothing is done about the high unemployment rate of 30% in the state 04 | 05 Click-On Kaduna consisted of three components designed to train entry and transcription. It also included more advanced digital the youth aged 18-40 including women and disadvantaged groups skills that are in high demand across the ICT sector such as with digital skills and/or digital entrepreneurship skills and thus software/mobile apps development, database management, lay the foundations to build a youth-based tech-savvy workforce and web development. in Kaduna State. Click-On Kaduna had the following components: For each component, the program sought to partner with Component 1: Click-On Kaduna E-lance Workshops – A Kaduna’s nascent yet vibrant digital players. The desired three-day event that took place July 10th – 12th, 2018 in outcome of the Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Kaduna, Nigeria. It hosted almost 1,000 participants (one Program was to create a pool of digitally relevant youth who are third women) over the three days, who were trained on able to trade their technical ICT skills in return for an increase in Virtual Freelancing best practices by a set of local successful their income through skills matching opportunities in the form freelancers. The Click-On Kaduna E-lance Workshops also of formal setups (internship & employment opportunities) and organized a first of its kind pilot, in partnership with Upwork, informal opportunities (online freelancing and the biggest platform in the world, which aimed to help a entrepreneurship opportunities). selection of freelancers enter the very competitive virtual marketplace and start working online. Component 2: Click-On Kaduna Digital Entrepreneurship Incubation Program (KAD-DIP) (April – December 2019) – STRUCTURE & KAD-DIP supported the development of an innovation-driven business ecosystem through mentorship METHODOLOGY support, extensive networks, soft skills development, and education on the various facets of global digital The Digital Skills Structure and Methodology was based on entrepreneurship. implementation of the skills programme across 4 segments; providing monitoring and evaluation as a cross functional Component 3: Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills process that was continuously used across the life cycle of the Development Program (April – December 2019) – Click-On program. Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program armed youth with basic and advanced digital skills to support increased The phasing approach included: technology adoption and innovation in the state. The Pre-Implementation Planning & Preparation program had two different tranches (i.e., Programming and Tech and Graphics Design) with female-specific classes, and 01 First Order job-matching upon graduation. Implementation of Curriculum Design and 02 Content Delivery Second Order PROGRAM DESIGN Post Implementation and Jobs Matching & 03 Facilitation Third Order As part of the program design for the Digital Skills program, gender inclusion consideration formed part of the critical success Monitoring & Evaluation factors with 50% of participation opportunities reserved for young women. These included training and mentorship activities 04 Cross functional for women through the creation of flexible safe spaces for learning and creating a sustainable structure to instil confidence and self-expression through a setup of gender independent Having undertaken an extensive stakeholder engagement and a cohorts for both male and female participants. The Click-On skills demand survey, two streams were identified as critical to Kaduna program was a pilot program designed to underscore the achieving significant traction towards creating economic potential impact of skills to employment opportunities. opportunities for disadvantaged youths. The Programming & Tech and Digital Marketing, Graphics & Design streams were The program sought to prepare disadvantaged youths for job identified as critical learning streams that provided the best opportunities available through online outsourcing - including a pathways for economic opportunity creation with the following variety of medium skilled opportunities in software testing, data job roles envisaged during program design: Over a period of two months, from April 1st to May 22, 2019, this Programming & Tech information was used to determine compliance with the prerequisite requirements for the program. WordPress, Website & CMS Programming (Web & Desktop) The following criteria were used to determine the selection 01 Mobile App development process: Database Design & Development Software Development Testing 1. 50% of the persons selected must be female. Software Engineering 2. Persons selected must be residents of Kaduna State. Data Entry and Crowdsourcing 3. Must be between the ages of 18 and 40 years (exceptional cases apply where applications are very compelling and adds value to the program). Digital Marketing, 4. Must be available to attend classes without interruption for Graphics & Design the duration of the program. 5. Has a tertiary qualification from a recognized institution which 02 will count towards the selection process, but which will not limit self-taught and passionate participants from Social Media Marketing participating and being considered for the program. SEO 6. Must be available for the entire period of the training. Email Marketing Infographic Designs Applicants were required to send in short videos with the Photoshop/Adobe Illustrator following specifications and requirements: at most a 1 minute UI/UX for web & mobile video in MP3/MP4 file format, standard frame rate format of 720 2D Art Designs and animation using WACOM x 480 pixels or less, at most 5MB video size. The short video tablets should focus ONLY on why they think they deserve to be considered for the program and how they are going to apply the knowledge gained to achieve their goals. The entire selection process workflow is further provided in Section 3.2. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES & PROGRAM TARGET AUDIENCE COMMUNICATIONS The Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program aimed to help increase employment in the state for disadvantaged A communication plan and outreach strategy was implemented to youth aged between 18-40 by catalysing the use of Information drive traffic and ensure that the identified targeted demography and Communication Technology (ICT) for economic opportunity was attracted with the right messaging that would deliver the creation. Through the program, we expected to integrate a necessary participation and interest from youths and young significant number of participants with opportunities for women. The strategy implemented for the communications and internships, full-time jobs and participation in the Virtual outreach activities was geared towards ensuring we matched the Economy. right communication channel to the right target audience. As part of our strategy, we deployed the targeted messaging across social media channels, traditional mediums like radio outreach and PROGRAM CALL FOR open day outreaches by visiting local technology hubs, TVET institutions and tertiary institutions as shown in Section 3.3. APPLICATIONS As an outcome of the detailed communication plan and outreach The Call for Applications for the Digital Skills Program was strategy, results achieved contributed to the success of the designed as a points-based system where interested applicants program. A total of 267,048 young people were estimated to have were expected to complete the application form on the program been targeted through social media engagements, radio outreach website providing details of their personal information, and information sessions which has resulted in the following especially as it related to (1) State of Residence, (2) Age, (3) outcomes. Gender, (4) Academic Qualifications and (5) Competency level. 06 | 07 Improved Web Visits and Registrations on Program website increased as a result of the communication strategy. Through social media marketing, Twitter followings grew from 800 to 2,744 followers, Facebook grew from 4,000 to 8,541 followers while the Instagram handle grew from 600 to 1,241 followers signifying increased acceptance of the program and increased engagement with the program on potential future rollout. The Radio outreach generated public awareness and recognition of the program as Click-On Kaduna became a recognizable brand across Kaduna and neighbouring states in Nigeria. An increase in the number of participants was seen. Registrants for the program included stay-at-home mums, participants with TVETs and tertiary level qualifications. PROGRAM OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES The Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills program was successful in achieving the core outcomes envisaged during the program design as illustrated in the outputs and outcomes indicator metrics. A remarkable increase in income for the participants was seen. Above all, participants were seen to grow within this period to be self-confident, reassured and entrepreneurial compared to when they started the program. The key results of the program are highlighted in the following indicators while a more detailed M&E data sheet can be found in Annex 4.2: OUTPUT LEVEL INDICATORS Number of Participants trained on Digital Skills Number of Instructors and Teaching Assistants Engaged Number of participants trained on digital skills program Total number of instructors/trainers engaged 01 01 Baseline (0) Baseline (0) Target (180) Target (10) Actual (185) Actual (15) 0 50 100 150 200 0 3 6 9 12 15 Total number of teaching assistants engaged 02 Number of Participants who completed the Digital Skills Program Baseline (0) Number of participants awarded digital skills Target (10) 01 programme certificates Actual (10) 0 2 4 6 8 10 Baseline (0) Target (180) Actual (185) 0 50 100 150 200 OUTCOME LEVEL INDICATORS Percentage of total Participants in formal employment Average Monthly Income ($) of Total Participants % of participants in formal employment Average Monthly Income ($) of Total Participants 01 Baseline Baseline (0) (13%) Baseline (0) ($82) Baseline 01 Target (50%) Target (N/A) Actual (39%) Actual ($185) 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 50 100 150 200 % of participants in informal employment Percentage of Participants with Professional Certifications in IBM, SEMrush and Google following completion of Digital Baseline (12%) Baseline (0) Skills Program 02 Target (50%) % of participants awarded other professional Actual (49%) 01 certification following Digital Skills Programme 0 10 20 30 40 50 Baseline (6%) Target (50%) Actual (100%) 0 20 40 60 80 100 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES & TARGET AUDIENCE A number of lessons were learned as a result of the pilot roll out of the program. One of the key lessons learned was that developing a digital skills program in an FCV area requires effective planning to drive inclusion especially for young women who are mostly marginalized in accessing opportunities to enhance their income. Also, the fragile nature of such communities increases risk of planning especially as it relates to the health and safety of participants, instructors and managers of the program. Disruption of program calendars can be regular due to the fragile nature of such communities. While the program delivered on providing employability and improving the quality of life of the participants through improved income generation, the lack of infrastructure and high overhead costs, especially for electricity, can make scaling out the program difficult. Nevertheless, the program had the opportunity to reach a large number of young people and equip them with the right skills required by industry. Additional lessons learned are provided below: Any program with focus on female participation and results delivery must address the issues of inclusion with proper program design based on the local context. A well-planned application and selection process leads to better retention rates. A skills demand level survey is the first process to developing and implementing a curriculum in order to identify the knowledge gap the industry faces. 08 | 09 An Effective Communications Strategy leads to acceptance and enhances partnership potentials on any skills program implementation. Learning needs to be engaging and motivating to drive retention. There is a need to gamify learning and introduce soft skills development and lifelong learning. Building partnerships not only prepares participants for better opportunities but also strengthens the local tech ecosystem. Planning for infrastructure and supporting services is critical to ensuring that the program is successful. The Learning Management System (LMS) provides an effective way to implement the curriculum, deliver courseware, track lesson outcomes and assessments. 25% 45 (25%) participants reported having full time employment as a result of acquiring digital skills. 26 (14%) participants were connected to internship opportunities as a result of their acquired skills across both government and private sector entities. Participants full time employment 53 (30%) participant’s profiles were approved by Upwork and Fiverr. 25 (14%) participants formed entrepreneurial outfits by formalizing and registering their new businesses and engaging in short term work opportunities. A total income of USD6,187 was reported around their digital solutions. An example of a newly formed business formed during program implementation was Team Tech Bot, which made an 30% estimated USD1,388 partnering with Natview Technology to deliver a government based Participants profiles website for the Kaduna State Rural Urban Water Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA). approved by Upwork and Fiverr NEXT STEPS Given that the Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills program was a pilot scheme which was successful, it is important to address the issues around sustainability and scalability. As possible next steps for the implementation of future digital skills program, it is important to ensure that: There is continuum in the support given to participants in the form of mentorship so as to continue their growth as they transition to using digital skills for better opportunities. There is a need to continue to build on the partnership framework with industry and the local tech ecosystem so as to sustain the program especially for governments interested in using digital skills as a tool for building human capital development and positioning as a player in the digital economy. There is a need to provide access and affordability of devices and internet connectivity to drive the outcomes of digital skills and ensure scalability of any digital skills program. Once the right infrastructure is put in place, it is easier to scale the program to achieve the necessary impact. The high cost of electricity, given the unreliability of public electricity, increases the overhead costs significantly. Exploring cheaper sources of electricity can significantly reduce the cost of implementing the program. To achieve scale, there is a need to leverage digital technology, especially cloud based training and assessment framework, that connects youths to opportunities via virtual job fairs, open job events, etc., which are industry demand driven skills and customized programs. 10 | 11 ACRONYMS API......................................... Application Programming KPI........................................ Key Performance Indicator Interface M&E...................................... Monitoring and Evaluation ASP........................................ Active Server Pages MB........................................ Megabyte AV.......................................... Audio-visual NGN...................................... Nigerian Naira B2B........................................ Business to Business NGO...................................... Non-Governmental Organization BPO........................................ Business Process Outsourcing OND...................................... Ordinary National Diploma BSc........................................ Bachelor of Science PHP....................................... Hypertext Pre-processor CRM........................................ Customer Relationship PM........................................ Project Management Management QA........................................ Quality Assurance CSS........................................ Cascading Style Sheets SEO....................................... Search Engine Optimization CV......................................... Curriculum Vitae SME....................................... Small and Medium Enterprise FCT........................................ Federal Capital Territory SPSS...................................... Statistical Package for Social GB......................................... Gigabit Sciences GPA....................................... Grade Point Average SQL....................................... Structured Query Language HND....................................... Higher National Diploma SW........................................ Software HR.......................................... Human Resources UI......................................... User Interface HTML...................................... Hypertext Mark-up Language UK........................................ United Kingdom HW......................................... Hardware USA...................................... United States of America IBC......................................... International Block chain USD...................................... United States Dollar Consultancy UX........................................ User Experience ICT......................................... Information Communications VIP....................................... Very Important Person Technologies Y2K....................................... Year 2000 IT........................................... Information Technologies JSS......................................... Job Success Score KASU...................................... Kaduna State University KB.......................................... Kilobyte KDSP...................................... Kaduna State Development Plan 12 | 13 INTRODUCTION CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF This gradually changing landscape of work is disrupting the way people earn with more and more people earning remotely, WORK removed from the confines of typical offices. Organizations across the world are redefining requirements for job opportunities from traditional skills requirements to focus on The shifting dynamism of the modern jobs and the usage of digital skills and soft skills to power a newer entrepreneurial landscape is providing a critical defining generation where people and machines collaborate. moment for countries with large youthful populations especially across Sub-Saharan Africa. As an epitome of The future of jobs as we know it will no longer be the same. innovation and collaboration across a borderless global In order to leverage this change in paradigm the Rockefeller marketplace ensues, the growing skills gap between the demand Foundation, Kaduna State Government and the World Bank partnered under the “Digital Jobs in Nigeria – Kaduna State for digital skills from the industry and the mismatched skills Program” and organized “Click-On Kaduna Program” to leverage supply from our traditional “brick and mortar” university opportunities within the digital space and position Kaduna as a curriculum, provides both a challenge and an opportunity. regional hub for technology innovation. Moreover, there is a need to interact with digital platforms to create economic potentials in a new way since the skills of the last Click-On Kaduna consisted of three components designed to decade are no longer enough to succeed in today’s job train the youth aged 18-40 including women and disadvantaged opportunities. groups with digital skills and/or digital entrepreneurship skills and thus lay the foundations to build a youth-based tech-savvy Technology is defining a new era of work, causing significant workforce in Kaduna State. changes and creating new minimum standards for participating in the digital ecosystem either to create digital content or to work within digital platforms. The ubiquitous nature of technology is displacing old jobs and creating newer and smarter ways to work through digital transformations in the use of automation and smart technologies. Click-On Kaduna had the following components: Component 1: Click-On Kaduna E-lance Workshops – A three-day event that took place July 10th – 12th, 2018 in Kaduna, Nigeria. It hosted almost 1,000 participants (one third women) over the three days, who were trained on Virtual Freelancing best practices by a set of local successful freelancers. The Click-On Kaduna E-lance Workshops also organized a first of its kind pilot in partnership with Upwork, the biggest platform in the world, which aimed to help a selection of freelancers enter the very competitive virtual marketplace and start working online. Component 2: Click-On Kaduna Digital Entrepreneurship Incubation Program (KAD-DIP) (April – December 2019) – KAD-DIP supported the development of an innovation-driven business ecosystem through mentorship support, extensive networks, soft skills development, and education on the various facets of global digital entrepreneurship. Component 3: Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program (April – December 2019) – Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program armed youth with basic and advanced digital skills to support increased technology adoption and innovation in the state. The program had two different tranches (i.e., Programming and Tech and Graphics Design) with female-specific classes, and job-matching upon graduation. The present document reviews component 3 final results, providing an overview of the program including program design, program objectives and targeted audience, methodology, program communication, program results, key achievements so far, testimonials from participants and lesson learned. As described throughout this report, Click-On Kaduna obtained very positive feedback from participants and stakeholders, and observed tangible economic impact in Kaduna through opportunities around full time employments, internships, freelancing and entrepreneurship at the program closure. 14 | 15 PROJECT BACKGROUND Kaduna State provides a very interesting case study as an FCV area. It is a major target for Boko Haram terrorist attacks ranging from bombing to kidnapping. According to the Kaduna Bureau of Statistics, Kaduna has a population of 8.9 million with 79% of the population living in rural areas. Also, it has a very large youth population with 75% of the population estimated to be under the age of 35 , thus creating a demographic dividend where the working age population is more than the [imags of zaman banza] non-working age population. However, this large youth population is mostly unemployed or underemployed due to several factors creating a potential risk for demographic curse, especially as it relates to conflict and violence if nothing is done about the high unemployment rate of 30% in the state (Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics, 2017). Furthermore, the World Bank’s Nigeria Jobs Report of 2015 found that Nigeria's economy needs to create 40-50 million jobs between 2010 and 2030. These numbers translate into over 2 million additional jobs per year. Kaduna State accounts for 30% of those numbers and will need an average of 60,000 jobs per year to reduce the high unemployment rate. Despite these challenges, Kaduna is considered as the gateway of the North with a young working age and consumer population and it is one of the fastest reforming states in Nigeria attracting foreign direct investments of USD 500 million in the last two years. These new investments cut across various sectors such as agriculture, vehicle assembly, ICT and the hospitality sectors . Some of these large FDI investments include: (1) Olam Hatchery, (2) Tomato Jos, (3) Dangote PAN Car Assembly Plant, (4) Blue Camel Energy, (5) Mahindra Tractor Assembly Plant, (6) Outsource BPO Ltd etc. These new investments require the right type of skills to re-energize the Kaduna economy given the relatively high literacy rate of 47% (NBS, 2017). To understand the demand for digital skills across these new investments, Click-On Kaduna launched an ecosystem assessment and skills gap survey to measure how the supply side of skills matched the demand side required by industry across both Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos. The results of the assessment highlighted the growing skills gap and the opportunities and pathways available for young people to participation in the formal economy. This is why one of the core components of the Kaduna State Development Plan (KDSP) 2016 – 2020 is to position Kaduna as a destination for business investment to create jobs, especially amongst youth and women. As reflected in KDSP 2016-2020, ICT-related industries such as mobile and web application development and computer assembly are considered one of the seven areas with significant potential for driving regional economic growth and job creation. Nigeria has the largest ICT sector in Africa, with around USD 30 billion in total investments (Dalberg, 2013) and one of the largest youth populations in the continent. Nigeria has a vibrant ICT sector that is fuelled by activity across various sectors, although most investments, initiatives, and resources tend to focus on Lagos and Abuja, leaving the rest of the country unattended. The Nigerian ICT Sector, therefore, shows great potential as an important contributor to economic development, offering new opportunities for unemployed or underemployed youth in Nigeria, especially in the untapped Virtual Economy. 16 | 17 ICT Sector – Opportunities in the Virtual Economy In the last decade, ICT has become ubiquitous in our daily lives, whether we refer to a developed or developing country [in Nigeria, for example, there were 145 million mobile subscriptions by the end of 2017 (World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database 2017)]. This ubiquity has given rise to a massive new market for digital goods and services, a market that requires high to low skilled workers, and provides digital earning opportunities for workers with access to an internet connection, wireless or fixed, proprietary or public. These new opportunities arise from the discovery and development of digital scarcities that can be exploited within the Virtual Economy. In the US alone, in 2016, a total workforce of 55 million freelancers (around 35% of the US labor force) raised a total of 1 trillion USD in income from tasks performed in the Virtual Economy. According to the World Bank, the Virtual Economy consists of a three-layer model that comprises the ICT Physical Infrastructure; the Digital Economy of services supported by the ICT Infrastructure, as well as the Virtual Economy that emerges from the digital services and the infrastructure. In order to allow the Virtual Economy to thrive, most of the initiatives in both the developed and developing world are focused on physical infrastructure (pipes, microwave towers or devices) and the proliferation of high-skilled and semi-skilled businesses in the area of ICT, from BPOs to ecommerce. However, the rise in virtual transactions (both social and monetary) and the use of Internet and cell phones in our daily lives, have created new digital needs ranging from the lower to the higher set of skills. The Virtual Economy, therefore, introduces a new paradigm in digital content industries that are traditionally highly skilled oriented. This low and medium-skilled labour Virtual Economy opens the door to a growing number of unemployed and underemployed pool of workers, both in the developed and developing world, who are willing to take advantage of the opportunity the virtual marketplace provides. Virtual Economy Exchanges of virtual goods, currencies, links, digital labor Digital Economy Online services, communities, games ICT Infrastructure Broadband connectivity, Wireless networks Figure 1: Virtual Economy Three Layer Model. Ernkvist, D. V., & Mirko, D. (2011). Knowledge Map of the Virtual Economy: Converting the Virtual Economy into Development Potential. The third layer, i.e., the Virtual Economy, crosscuts multiple sectors, regions, industries, employers, and workers. Traditionally, this third layer is divided into two segments: Consumer Oriented: Comprised of activities known as “gold farming” and “power-levelling” (services where an online game player hires someone else to play the game on their behalf, in exchange for an economic compensation) or activities to produce and sell user-generated virtual items, textures and other artificially scarce virtual objects for virtual environments such as Second Life; Business Oriented: The act of outsourcing paid work of all kinds to a large distributed group of workers using a technology intermediary that helps oversee the definition, submission, coordination, acceptance, and the payment for work done. The latter is the segment that shows the highest growth rates and the bigger potential for countries like Nigeria. This segment is also divided into two sub-segments: Microwork Elancing Microtasks: High volume of tasks, very low pay rate per Simple projects: Low volume of tasks or single tasks, task and a heavily automated task throughout the process moderate rate of pay, some direct contact between employer and worker Macrotasks: Less volume of activities, higher rate of pay and also through an automated process. Complex Projects: Single project, high rate of pay, substancial amound of time and a direct and frequent interaction between employer and worker. Figure 2: Microwork and Elancing sub-segments. Self-Elaboration. 18 | 19 Elancing and Microwork represent work opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled workers respectively. Job opportunities in the real economy (as opposed to virtual) may be limited within geographical boundaries. In contrast, with over a million tasks available online on just one of the many active platforms, workers are just beginning to scratch the surface of the online work industry. Elancing tasks include writing business plans, designing websites, editing legal documents, etc., where workers may earn from USD 20 to a few hundred dollars per task. Microwork tasks, on the other hand, include answering survey questions, tagging images, translating lines of text, etc., with workers earning on average only a few cents to a couple of dollars per task. The global digital economy has, therefore, given rise to a massive new market accessible to everyone who has access to the Internet. As described by Rashid Benmessaoud, Former World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, “It [The Virtual Economy] is helping to improve social welfare across skill levels, gender, and economic class. These new opportunities need to be leveraged to create and connect people with jobs in the North as traditional means, infrastructure, education, and demand are insufficient and under pressure.” In order to leverage these new opportunities, and help bridge the gap between Lagos and Abuja and the rest of the country, the Kaduna State Government partnered with the World Bank Group and Rockefeller Foundation on the “Digital Jobs in Nigeria – Kaduna State Program”. Digital Jobs in Nigeria – Kaduna State Program The World Bank Group’s Digital Development Practice’s “Digital Jobs in Nigeria – Kaduna State Program”, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, is a single-donor trust fund activity that aims to catalyse employment opportunities in the digital economy for Kaduna youths. The project’s objective is to empower Northern Nigerian youths with digital skills to address youth unemployment and fragility, and to break the cycle of unemployment and violent conflict. To achieve this objective, the project partnered with the Kaduna State Commission of Budget and Planning to launch a suite of activities branded “Click-On Kaduna in partnership with Digital Naija”. The project activities are comprised of three components: Component 1: Job Matching & Facilitation (April – December 2018). Objective: Link digitally skilled youths to online freelancing opportunities on international and local platforms. Component 2: Digital Entrepreneurship – Piloting Digital Entrepreneurship Activities (June 2018 – December 2019). Objective: Provide digital entrepreneurship support to youths, link them to mentors, and sources of capital via a 6-month program that includes a women-only cohort. Component 3: Digital Skills Development (June 2019 – December 2019). Objective: Medium-skilled digital skills development program that will link youths with immediate employment opportunities. CLICK-ON KADUNA DIGITAL SKILLS PROGRAM 20 | 21 The program sought to prepare disadvantaged youths for job opportunities available through online outsourcing - including a variety of medium skilled opportunities in software testing, data entry and transcription. It also included more advanced digital skills that are in high demand across the ICT sector such as software/mobile apps development, database management, web development, digital marketing and graphic design. PROGRAM DESIGN For each component, the program sought to partner with Kaduna’s nascent yet vibrant digital players. The desired An Inclusive and Gender Smart Program outcome of the Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program was to create a pool of digitally relevant youth who are The Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program was able to trade their technical ICT skills in return for an increase in aimed at helping increase employment for disadvantaged youth their income through skills matching opportunities in the form aged between 16-40 in Kaduna state by catalysing the use of of formal setups (internship & employment opportunities) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for economic informal opportunities (online freelancing and opportunity creation. entrepreneurship opportunities). These included partnering with the Kaduna State Government (KDSG), private sector, and As part of the program design, gender inclusion consideration academia as well as local tech hubs and training centers such as formed part of the critical success factors with 50% of the KAD ICT Hub, CoLab, etc. participation opportunities reserved for young women. These included training and mentorship activities for women through the creation of flexible safe spaces for learning and creating a PROGRAM DESIGN sustainable structure to instil confidence and self-expression through a setup of gender independent cohorts for both male and CONSIDERATIONS, female participants. The curriculum was designed in such a way to cater for opportunities within the context of the cultural norms of FACTORS & THEMES Northern Nigeria especially as it relates to remote work An Inclusive and Gender Smart Program opportunities. For example, nursing mums were allowed to come to classes with their babies where there was a dedicated crèche In designing a digital skills program, considerations must be setup to provide comfort and ease during the program. Also, given to stepwise implementation of the various components of female only classes were set up with female instructors and program design as part of the methodology planning shown in female teaching assistants to increase the confidence level of the Section 3.1.3 which starts from pre-implementation to female cohorts to freely express themselves while learning digital implementation and post implementation phase. skills. The following were critical factors that contributed to the successful implementation of the Click-On Kaduna program: Factors to Consider when designing a Digital Skills Program Skills Demand Level Survey is very important in understanding the requirements of the industry and filling the gaps around requirements and skill quality problems faced by industry players. Partnerships and collaborations with local tech hubs and international ICT players provide the right approach around using current and relevant tools and platforms to meet a compelling need. An effective Selection Process is the best foundational requirement for achieving a successful digital skills programme. It is important to get the right candidates when planning for a Skills Program. An effective Communication Plan ensures enhanced participation, acceptability, and more engagement during the program implementation. To achieve positive outcomes, it is important to ensure that the Curriculum Development process aligns with industry requirements and soft skills development including boot camps are considered during program implementation. Identify the right instructors and teaching assistants at the onset. If the plan is to identify and use the local tech ecosystem; ensure that the selection process is competitive so as to attract best talent. Plan for infrastructure and accompanying overheads when running a skills programme as these are critical to ensuring the success of the program. The deployment of a Learning Management System (LMS) ensures that learning outcomes can be tracked and course evaluation deployed to track areas of improvement and measure the quality of learning. Digital Skills Structure and Pre-Implementation Planning & Preparation 01 First Order Methodology Implementation of Curriculum Design and The Digital Skills Structure and Methodology was based on implementation of the skills programme across 4 segments; 02 Content Delivery Second Order providing monitoring and evaluation as a cross functional process that is continuously used across the life cycle of the Post Implementation and Jobs Matching & program. The phasing approach include: 03 Facilitation Third Order Monitoring & Evaluation 04 Cross functional 22 | 23 Identify Instructors and Teaching Assistants qualified to deliver the course content. M2: Implementation of Curriculum Design and Content Delivery - 6 Months The implementation of curriculum content & delivery phase represented the main component of the digital skills implementation which was designed to focus on delivering an intensive and engaging training experience for participants. These included the following: Implement Curriculum Plan by building lesson plans and develop course content for program. Plan for Course Content Delivery through the use of Learning Management System (LMS) and other hands-on platforms to achieve the lesson plans. Implement Train-The-Trainer (TTT) sessions to enhance and maintain quality teaching, develop an experiential curriculum that combines blended learning with capstone projects for participants. Build Assessment and Aptitude Framework to track weekly progress of participants and collect data on performance (these include: Attendance, Lab usage, projects, A summary of the methodology framework is provided below: assignments and group work). M1: Pre-Implementation Planning & Preparation - 3 Months Implement a Soft Skills Development curriculum and boot The pre-implementation phase focused on developing a camp to integrate lifelong skills and learning into the foundational structure for implementing the digital skills program curriculum. across identified streams. The pre-implementation plan spanned across several processes which included the following: Implement Post-Training Evaluation to track the course evaluation, quality of teaching and infrastructure Agree on Strategic Objectives and Success Factors during readiness. program planning. M3: Post Implementation, Job Matching & Facilitation - 2 Plan for skills classifications through a Skills Gap Analysis Months Survey to map the right curriculum and learning paths to the The post implementation phase focused on job facilitation and right demand by Industry. matching, finding existing opportunities for participants to showcase their talents, preparing participants with the Develop a Curriculum Roadmap and Learning Paths with necessary skill sets to explore the available pathways through learning outcomes identified. internships, full-time employment or remote work so as to achieve sustainable income and increased quality of life. The Implement a Selection Methodology to shortlist right components under this phase included: candidates with 50% of slots reserved for women. Bring in and select participants based on agreed selection Placement of high performing participants for Internship methodology (footnotes here). Opportunities across employers in both Government and Private sector entities; Develop outreach programmes through an Integrated Communications Plan which focuses on creating the Integrating Participants into Local and International necessary publicity and advocacy for success of programme Freelancing Platforms; implementation. Organizing job fairs and recruitment platforms to connect and branding skills intended to optimize the online presence of participants to Full time job Opportunities; businesses. Creating Mentorship Framework to provide continuous 3. Design and develop Train the Trainer sessions for local trainers support to participants as they explore careers in the for sustainability purposes and with a robust proportion of identified streams. women being trained. The session is expected to train instructors and teaching assistants on uniform teaching delivery whilst adhering to quality. M4: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework - 6 Months (Cross Cutting) 4. Identify and secure a training space with access to stable The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework provided electricity, internet connectivity, security and computer performance assessment focusing on key outcomes and equipment. outputs required from the program. Through the M&E framework, both baseline and end line progress of results were 5. Link program beneficiaries to work opportunities upon tracked as they relate to the key results required. The completion of the program, examples include linking to online components under this phase included: freelancing websites and digital work opportunities in Kaduna and Tracking baseline results to determine benchmarks and beyond (e.g., Lagos, Abuja). status of participants as they relate to earnings and skill level before the start of the programme; The Key desired outcome of the Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program was to create a pool of digitally relevant Continuous tracking of performance results through youth who are able to trade their technical ICT skills in return for surveys and course assessment and aptitude to determine an increase in their income through skills matching opportunities the impact of program. in formal setups (internship & employment opportunities). Other outcomes included: Program Objectives and Outcome 2: Provide practicable and marketable skills to participants to Target Audience improve skill competency level while creating opportunity for increased demand for acquired digital skills and participation in The Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Development Program was the informal digital markets. aimed at helping to increase employment in the state for disadvantaged youth aged between 16-40 by catalysing the use Outcome 3: of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Ensure sustainability of the program by ensuring transfer of economic opportunity creation. Through the program, we assets, skills and processes to the State so as to improve expected to integrate a significant number of participants with employability skills. opportunities for internships, full-time jobs and participation in the Virtual Economy. Other objectives during the program design included: 1. Train a minimum of 180 participants from Kaduna State, of which at least 50 percent should be women and a total of 90 participants each in the programming & tech streams and digital marketing streams. 2. Design and develop a Digital Skills Training curriculum to match market demands for digital skills, consisting of training for digital and soft skills development; with strong focus on training women. The programming & tech focuses on training participants with coding and creativity skills to build web and mobile platforms while the digital marketing, graphics and design focuses on training participants with modern marketing 24 | 25 Target Audience The program was designed for underprivileged and disadvantaged youths within the working age population (aged between 18-40 years) with special focus on young women. However, exception cases were considered below the age threshold especially when applicants showed exceptional talent as with 2 of the young participants who were 16 years old. The following characteristics defined the target criteria. N N Poor and Graduate(s) Stay at home Secondary NYSC Corp Special Underemployed Entreprenuers Unemployed mums or wives school leavers members groups youths Poor and unemployed youth - Poor and underprivileged youths within the selection criteria looking for opportunities seeking opportunities to improve their means of livelihood Graduate students seeking - Graduates who are seeking opportunities and with the right skills requirements to get employment opportunities full time employment opportunities Stay-at-home mums or wives - Young women who are not in the formal economy and are looking for an avenue to work seeking remote at home whilst gaining extra income opportunities Secondary school leavers - Young secondary school leavers who have completed secondary education and have with exceptional talent shown exceptional talents and promise in the use of digital skills to improve their skills level NYSC Corps members - Serving corps members looking for opportunities to enhance their skill sets and get seeking opportunities for gainful employment gainful employment Special groups - Physically challenged groups who can use digital skills to enhance opportunities for formal and informal job placements Underemployed youths - Underemployed youths seeking opportunities to enhance their livelihood and also gain seeking opportunities to promotion in their workplace as a result of acquiring digital skills upscale income Entrepreneurs looking to use - Upcoming entrepreneurs seeking to use digital skills knowledge acquired to expand digital skills to expand business reach business reach and profit Program Call for Applications The Call for Applications for the Digital Skills Program was 5. Has a tertiary qualification from a recognized institution which designed as a points-based system where interested applicants will count towards the selection process but which does not limit were expected to complete the application form on the program self-taught and passionate participants from participating and website providing details of their personal information, being considered for the program. especially as it relates to (1) State of Residence, (2) Age, (3) 6. Must be available for the entire period of the training. Gender, (4) Academic Qualifications and (5) Competency level'. The placement on competency level for participants was determined after a placement test was done to determine suitability for joining advanced classes. 01 Programming & Tech The application and selection process was completed over a period of two (2) months from April 1st to May 22, 2019. - Must have basic computer knowledge The application process was designed to focus on the female - Must have basic to intermediate competency level gender ensuring that women were considered first during the in programming selection process with 50% of the selection slots reserved for - Having a computer is an added advantage their participation. The following criteria were used to determine the selection process: 02 Digital Marketing, 1. 50% of the persons selected must be female. 2. Persons selected must be residents of Kaduna State. Graphics & Design 3. Must be between the ages of 18 and 40 years (exceptional - Is conversant with social media engagement cases apply where applications are very compelling and adds platforms value to the program). - Has flair for creativity and design 4. Must be available to attend classes without interruption for the duration of the program. 26 | 27 Applicants were required to send in short videos with the Stage III: Review of Video & Essay Section following specifications and requirements: at most a 1 minute The final filtering process consisted of reviewing video video in MP3/MP4 file format, standard frame rate format of 720 submissions and essays to determine suitability for the x 480 pixels or less, at most 5MB video size. The short video program. The focus of the essay and video reviews is to should have focused ONLY on why they thought they deserved to determine the following from the application submissions: be considered for the program and how they were going to apply the knowledge gained to achieve their goals. 1. Evidence of existing and prerequisite knowledge to join the The selection criteria were further segmented into two categories program as follows: 2. Availability of time and commitment to stay in the program 1. Participants with very basic knowledge to no knowledge of the for 6 months identified streams but passionate about either the programming or the digital marketing graphics and designs stream; 3. Basic to intermediate knowledge of computers and understanding of the selected stream 2. Participants with basic to intermediate knowledge willing to upscale skillset to expert level and solidify a use case around The timeline for vetting the applications including filtering working in an enterprise environment. applications based on the selection criteria and undertaking a video review process to select the best applications are The filtering process for prequalification was based on a 2-staged provided in the table below: process with a total of 9 points grading system for selection of participants for further processing to determine the most suited Application Process for the program. The stages are further provided below: 01 The application process opened on the 1st of Stage I : Filtering Applications and Pre-qualification April and closed on 14th of May 2019 requirements for selection of applications. for 1 Month, 2 Weeks - May 14th, 2019 Selection Harvest 1 The Stage I filtering application process reviews submissions from the application form to determine applicants that qualify for 02 Chose candidates through automated deductions stage II & stage III reviews. - 2 Days Selection Harvest 2 Check Date of Birth and eliminate based on criteria 03 Chose 2nd level candidates through automated Check State of Residence and eliminate based on criteria 15 minutes technical test and selected highest score - 1 day Check email and eliminate based on lack of functional email Selection Harvest 3 address 04 Chose 3rd level candidates based on reviews of Check Q16 test videos and the 150 words explanation - 3 days Review essays and videos and grade from 1 -6 05 Final Lists Selections Rolled out a qualified selection listings based on Harvest 1-3 with option for replacement lists - 2 Stage II: Technical Tests days The Stage II filtering process was designed for Intermediate applicants as part of the process of further filtering and reducing 06 Final Selection Termination Date May 22, 2019 the number of applications to a manageable subset. Further technical testing was carried out through a Computer Based The methodology was designed in such a way to make the Testing approach for intermediate applicants based on a application process staged and easy to filter whilst making every time-based slot (15 mins) with multiple choice questions (MCQ) effort to collect significant, quantitative and qualitative data to and that provided a transparent and real-time scoring system enable selection of the best possible candidates for enrolment upon completion of the tests. into the program. Selection Process Results Analysis of application records showed that a total of 2,818 applications were received. Out of the applications, 185 participants were selected to partake in the training programme over a period of 6 Months. This included the following: 180 participants selected from the pool of applications; 5 participants selected from Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission who were to serve as student monitors to track the quality of class activities. Further disaggregation by stream based on programming & tech and digital marketing, graphics and designs selected for the program is shown in the table below: Stream Basic Level Intermediate Level Total Programming & Tech 26 21 47 (Male Class) 25 Participants + 1 Student 20 Participants + 1 Student Monitor from Monitor from PBC PBC Programming & Tech 25 21 46 (Female Class) 24 Participants + 1 Student 20 Participants + 1 Student Monitor from Monitor from PBC PBC Digital Marketing 26 20 46 (Male Class) 25 Participants + 1 Student 20 Participants Monitor from PBC Digital Marketing 24 23 46 (Female Class) 23 Participants + 1 Student 22 Participants Monitor from PBC Total Participants 185 The selection criteria were used to further prune down the number of qualified applications based on the point-based system for male applications and deductive reasoning for female applications (i.e., all female applicants qualify, but the best out of the submissions received were selected based on passion and ability to show commitment to join the programme and to add value to self and their immediate community). In order to ensure inclusiveness, the selection process was segmented into quadrants of performance so that 15% of candidates who applied, but who did not mainly perform well in the video review process or the intermediate test, were considered. This was done to track the impact of the programme to their livelihood and quality of life, especially as it relates to workplace opportunities and the enhancement of their income level. The selection methodology was applied to the 2,818 submissions out of which 844 applications were shortlisted through the selection criteria used on the lists. The shortlisted candidates were then divided based on the quadrant of performance as follows: 28 | 29 Description Quadrant Score Candidates in Quadrant 1 who scored between 90% -100% 90%- 100% of total scores (180 candidates) Candidates in Quadrant 2 who scored between 80%- 89% 80% - 89% (180 Candidates) Candidates in Quadrant 3 who scored between 70 – 79% 70% - 79% (180 Candidates) Candidates in Quadrant 4 who scored lower than 69% but < 69% considered as part of diversity framework. (15 Candidates) Planning for Course Selection Having undertaken an extensive stakeholder engagement and a skills demand survey, two streams were identified as critical to achieving significant traction towards creating economic opportunities for disadvantaged youths. The Programming & Tech and Digital Marketing, Graphics & Design streams were identified as critical learning streams that provide the best pathways for economic opportunity creation with the following job roles envisaged during program design: Programming & Tech WordPress, Website & CMS Programming (Web & Desktop) 01 Mobile App development Database Design & Development Software Development Testing Software Engineering Data Entry and Crowdsourcing Digital Marketing, Graphics & Design 02 Social Media Marketing SEO Email Marketing Infographic Designs Photoshop/Adobe Illustrator UI/UX for web & mobile 2D Art Designs and animation using WACOM tablets 30 | 31 Programming & Tech The Programming and Tech Stream was designed to build core competency around the use of web authoring content management platforms like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal whilst getting intermediate competency on developing web and mobile based solution using the latest web authoring programming [WACOM Picture Drawing] language like HTML5, CSS, PHP/MYSQL, Angular JS and JavaScript to deliver web and mobile solutions required by industry players. The selection of these programming authoring languages was based on skill gap assessment and survey done for the industry to determine the type of skills demand that can lead to potential employment opportunities. A number of private sector technology firms engaged, selected these sets of technology as the best entry test case for potential full-time employment. It is Digital Marketing, Graphics also worthy to note that the firms engaged also felt that the local universities were not sufficiently targeting the kind of skills and & Design basic proficiency in coding that can lead to potential employment. The Digital marketing, Graphics & Design Stream was a combination of digital marketing skills with skills around Participants who completed the series were expected to become branding, graphic design and market positioning to attract more proficient in developing web and mobile app solutions while also clients in a highly sought out marketplace demanding this kind managing and developing rapid web application through well of knowledge. The selection of these sets of courses was also renowned content management platforms like WordPress, Joomla based on the skills gap assessment of local technology and or Drupal. The series ensures participants understand the use of services industry in Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos. The results of the software engineering and project management principles to engagement with industry showed that most of the private deploy solutions that are scalable and usable. sector based companies were looking for skill sets relating to digital marketing, online presence and the optimization of their The syllabus for the stream is provided in the Annex 4.1 online presence. These are usually outsourced due to the lack of sufficient talent, as these kinds of skills are not readily being taught at Universities. Participants who completed the digital marketing series were better able to harness the power of digital marketing platforms as a core driver to reaching out to more people across a targeted demography, than when compared to traditional marketing. Participants became proficient in using different channels for marketing to Business to Consumers (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) which will provide a competitive edge to clients who adopt a digital marketing approach. In addition, they learned more about wireframes, colour schemes, tones, design templates, formatting, and typography. This course built upon their abilities to implement user analysis techniques, usability testing procedures and the vital role of testing to deliver professional User Interfaces. Finally, they studied branding design considerations, responsive design in relation to designing user interface design and the use of Wacom intuos tablets to make 2D cartoon designs and animations. The syllabus for the stream is provided in Annex 4.1 PARTNERS Partnerships were an important component of the Digital Skills Program. Through our robust partnership with local and international renowned brands and IT organizations, we were better able to target the right kind of skills with the right infrastructure to deliver on the learning outcomes. Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Program signed partnership agreements with the following platforms: Name: Upwork Name: Andela Country: USA Country: Nigeria Website: www.upwork.com Website: www.andela.com/ Description Description Upwork is the biggest Elance platform in the world, resulting Andela is a global software engineering recruitment firm building from the merger of oDesk and Elance in 2013. In 2016 Upwork enterprise scale programmers and engineers for big tech firms paid USD 1 billion in salaries amongst the 12 million freelancers across the world particularly in USA, Canada and Europe. Our registered in the platform (Upwork 2016). Upwork signed a partnership with Andela was designed to connect participants partnership agreement with the Digital Skills to include and the broader tech community in Kaduna State with job curriculum validation and an Agency account for talent opportunities as software developers and engineers. identification. 32 | 33 Name: IBM Digital Nation Africa Name: OUTSOURCE GLOBAL Country: UAE Country: Nigeria Website: www.ibm.com Website: www.outsourceglobal.com Description Description IBM Digital Nation Africa (IBM-DNA) is a platform for learning and OutSource Global is Africa’s leading global contact centre and getting global certification on Artificial Intelligence, BlockChain business/knowledge process outsourcing provider, they are and Internet of Things Knowledge. Through an MOU partnership, successfully making Africa an international KPO/BPO IBM supported Click-On Kaduna with Curriculum review and outsourcing destination. They are the first IAOP compliant validation, created a dedicated platform for achieving IBM commercial call Centre in West Africa, and the first Nigerian badges, to track progress of students taking IBM-DNA short term international call Centre serving the UK & US markets. Through courses on the Explorer, Innovator and New-Collar Streams, the partnership with OutSource Global, recruitment trained instructors on IBM-DNA course content and learning opportunities were created for Click-On Kaduna participants to management environment. Physical and virtual sessions were get integrated into employment opportunities. organized to provide Click-On Kaduna with IBM mentors and access to its IBM Watson Artificial Intelligence Guidance and Counselling platform to support students around job matching and facilitation. Name: KADUNA ICT HUB Country: Nigeria Name: WACOM Website: www.kadicthub.com Country: Japan Description Kaduna ICT Hub is a technology hub providing ICT education Website: www.wacom.com and knowledge. It serves as a hub for entrepreneurs, computer engineering, software development, software testing and IT Description training to bring together world-class technologies and WACOM Europe is a digital creative company which manufactures innovations. The partnership with the hub provided the physical graphics tablets and creative pens to support creativity through space for the program implementation and provided supporting innovative technology solutions. Through our partnership with staff to supplement the delivery of the curriculum. WACOM Europe, we had access to the state of the art graphic tablets to support learning of graphics, design and arts. The graphics and design courseware was further strengthened through the use of the tablets for digital sketches, cartoon design and animation drawing. This exposure provided our participants with opportunity to leverage on modern design skills required by industry practitioners in the space. Name: PWC Name: RAPID DUTY Country: Nigeria Country: Nigeria Website: www.pwc.com Website: www.rapidduty.com Description Description Upwork is the biggest Elance platform in the world, resulting Rapid Duty is a local freelance platform that provides remote work from the merger of oDesk and Elance in 2013. In 2016 Upwork opportunities and other gig and microwork. Through our paid USD 1 billion in salaries amongst the 12 million freelancers partnership with Rapid Duty, participants had access to local registered in the platform (Upwork 2016). Upwork signed a remote work opportunities. partnership agreement with the Digital Skills to include curriculum validation and an Agency account for talent identification. Name: YB INNOVATIONS Country: Nigeria Website: https://sir-yb-innovations.business.site/ Description YB Innovation is a creative digital agency that focuses on branding, digital services and hires professional Digital marketers, Creative Designers, and Developers for companies, organizations and, parastatals. Our partnership with YB Innovations was to provide internship opportunities for high performing digital marketing participants. 34 | 35 PROGRAM COMMUNICATIONS Communication Objectives As part of the pre-implementation planning for the Digital Skills program, a communication plan and outreach strategy was implemented to drive traffic and ensure that the identified targeted demography were [Picture of Radio Stations attracted with the right messaging Sessions with Natview Team] that would deliver the necessary participation and interest from youths and young women. The outreach strategy provided details on how to create and increase awareness for the program. The objective of the communications plan was to ensure that an integrated marketing strategy was used to drive participation and ensure the right mix of participants were attracted to the program able to understand the learning outcomes and potential program benefits. Communication Strategy The strategy implemented for the communications and outreach activities was geared towards ensuring the right communication channel was matched to the right target audience. As part of the strategy, the targeted messaging was deployed across the following channels: Communication Channel Tools Objective Objective Digital (Social) Media Twitter Ads Social media - Drive Online registration Targeted Demographics cards & applications for program Facebook Ads - Youths within 16-40yrs age - Grow following and bracket active on social media Instagram Ads generate engagement - Digital savvy and socially aware segments - Active females on social network platforms Program Website Website - Provide information - Interested Candidates on program converted to active users Traditional Media Radio - Radio - Create public awareness - Unemployed or Underemployed Advertisements and program recognition youths looking for improved - One on One opportunities to improve their Interviews income - Stay at home mothers looking Flyers - Hand Flyers for opportunities to improve Distribution income and opportunities to make extra income Information Sessions Open day Sessions (Meet & - TVETs - Target youths with - ICT savvy or knowledgeable Greet Sessions) - Tertiary required skills to youth with potential to enhance Institutions participate in the program their competency level - Target the SMEs segment - SMEs within the technology - KADCIMA willing to improve skill space willing to participate in the level of technical digital skills market employees 36 | 37 Messaging and Dispatch Strategy The communication strategy and messaging was also based on defined timelines for the roll out of communication materials in preparation for the application stage. The following approach was adopted over a period of 7 weeks: 1. Rolled out digital cards/ads to attract users to program website in the 1st week of media rollout 2. Continued digital cards roll out especially timers and information blitz on registration from the 2nd to the final week of registration closure. 3. Engaged in radio advertisement towards the 3rd week and 4th week of registration rollout as a mid-point to engage the general public 4. Distributed Hand flyers at targeted locations in the 3rd and 4th week of the registration rollout 5. Engaged in One on One radio interviews in the 5th week of registration cycle 6. Engaged in Open day sessions in TVETs in the 4th week of registration cycle 7. Engaged in Open day session in Tertiary Institutions in the 5th week of registration cycle 8. Engaged in Open day sessions with Kaduna State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA) in the 4th week of registration cycle Timeline WK 1 WK 2 WK 3 WK 4 WK 5 WK 6 WK 7 Mar 25th - Mar Apr 1st - Apr Apr 8th - Apr Apr 15th - Apr Apr 22nd - Apr Apr 30th - May May 7th - May 31st, 2019 7th, 2019 14th, 2019 21st, 2019 28th, 2019 6th, 2019 14th, 2019 Digital Cards Hand Flyers Radio Advertisement Info Sessions One on One Radio Interviews Open day Sessions with TVETs Open day Sessions with Tertiary Institution Open Day Session with KADCCIMA Communications Activity and Work Plan As part of the communication strategy, several activities were undertaken across Kaduna State to garner interest for the program and enhance publicity. The work plan focused on implementing the program work plan and actualizing the desired impact required to make implementation successful. An estimated expenditure of USD6,800 was spent on promotion strategy; with a sizeable amount (30%) spent on promoting the state-wide recruitment day event (AikiDay). Some of the activities implemented as part of the communication activity and work plan included: A. Information Sessions to provide updates and information on the program The information sessions were one-on-one open day events where the team set up engagement activities with targeted communities within the technology ecosystem to discuss the program, requirements for participation, benefits of the program and also handle on the spot registrations and troubleshooting of issues encountered during program applications. It also served as an avenue to answer questions about the program. Also, as part of the completion phase of the program, info sessions were planned for the AikiDay event which was a recruitment day event for the tech ecosystem in Kaduna. Over 200 participants were integrated into the recruitment event through partnership with Andela and Outsource Global. During the program implementation, the team organized 11 information sessions with a total of 848 people reached as shown below: Date/Time The venue of Info Session # of Participants Reached 4th April 2019/1: 00 pm KAD ICT Hub 42 11th April 2019/ 12:00 pm Kaduna State University (KASU) 44 12th April 2019/10: 00 am Aptech Computer Education, Kaduna 15 13th April 2019/4:00 pm Alpha Hub, Kaduna 25 15th April 2019/10:00 am Dialogue Computer Institute 64 15th April 2019/7:00 pm NYSC Orientation Camp 100 16th April 2019/7:00 pm Kaduna Polytechnic 400 17th April 2019/1: 00 pm Kafanchan ICT Hub 14 17th April 2019/4:00 pm DFID Mafita COSDEC Programme 80 18th April 2019/10:00 am Dr Mukthar Ramalan Yero ICT Center, Ungwan 37 Sanusi, Kaduna 26th April 2019/10:00 am Rigassa Women Resource Centre 27 B. Radio Sessions to provide updates and information on the program The Radio sessions were targeted at a more traditional segment of our target audience so as to reach out to people who are not active on social media platforms. The radio session’s work plan consisted of 2 segments as follows: (1) radio advertisement which ran over 2 weeks period to publicize the program and (2) one on one radio session to answer questions from radio listeners on the program objectives and benefits. 38 | 39 A total of 5 radio sessions were launched targeting approximately 12,000 people through a listenership strength analysis of the top three radio stations in Kaduna metropolis as shown below 1. Radio Nigeria: 5,000 2. Liberty FM: 4,000 3. Invicta FM: 3,000 The frequency of the radio sessions is further provided in the table below: Date/Time The venue of Info Session # of People Reached 18th April 2019 Radio Advertisement 5,000 Radio Nigeria (92.1 FM) 25thApril 2019/11:00 am One on One Radio Sessions 3,000 Invicta FM (98.9 FM) 25th April 2019/8: 30 am One on One Radio Sessions 4,000 Liberty FM (91.7 FM) 9th May 2019/8:30 am One on One Radio Sessions 4,000 Liberty FM (91.7 FM) 9th December 2019 /8:30 am One on One Radio Sessions on AikiDay 4,000 Liberty FM (91.7 FM) C. Social Media platforms to attract digital savvy candidates and provide publicity and activity updates on the program The Social Media deployment strategy focused on rolling out digital cards across the program’s 3 social media handles (i.e., Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) to attract users to apply for the program and also communicate the activities done during program implementation. This was achieved through a combination of strategy especially through targeted paid advertisement, engagement of social media influencers and creating trending tags to enhance publicity through the social media platforms. Communication Results C3.0 The Radio outreach generated public awareness and recognition of the program as Click-On Kaduna became a recognizable brand across Kaduna and neighbouring states in Nigeria. Through radio advertisement and one-on-one radio sessions to update radio listeners on the progress of the program, we succeeded in generating public awareness on the program and [Information Session Pictures] the broader digital economy. The program also gained recognition as a platform for empowering youths to be self-sufficient and earn income remotely. The communications strategy was successful in connecting the participants of the program to government organizations and private sector entities for internship and full-time job opportunities. C4.0 An increase in the number of participants was seen and As a result of the detailed communication plan and outreach included stay-at-home mums, participants with TVETs and strategy, results were achieved which contributed to the tertiary level qualifications registering for the program. success of the program. The results achieved are provided below Through the communication strategy, an increase in registrations . from the targeted demography was seen especially as C1.0 Improved Web Visits and Registrations on Program stay-at-home mums, candidates from TVET institutions, and website increased as a result of the communication participants with tertiary level qualifications applied for the strategy. program. The quality of the participants was impressive which accounted for the success of the program and the increased Through the communications plan, especially using social retention rates. For example, 85% of applications were from media platforms, an increase in web site traffic was seen with a tertiary level qualifications while only 12% were from potential total of 5,105 unique web visits to the site and a total of 2,818 candidates with secondary level qualifications. 32% of our registrations out of a target of 3,000 within a month of registrations were stay-at-home mums looking for the launching the website which represents 94% of target achieved. opportunity to earn remotely. The quality of registrations Through our targeted messaging approach, we were able to highlighted the importance of an effective communications plan reach the right segment of the population in terms of age, and outreach strategy. status and location demography. The communications plan contributed to increasing the rate of repeat visits to the website as we received more than 60% conversion rate with more than 2,000 unique repeat visits. C2.0 Through the social media marketing, a tremendous increase of followers on social media handles and increased engagement through social media was seen. Using social media platforms, a significant increase in the number of followers on social media across the 3 platforms was observed (i.e., Twitter, Facebook and Instagram). For example, twitter followings grew from 800 to 2,744 followers, Facebook grew from 4,000 to 8,541 followers while the Instagram handle grew from 600 to 1,241 followers. The growth in followership was not only proof of impact of the effective communications strategy, but also a pointer to significant increase in engagements through the social platforms for both participants of the program and the general public interested in the impact of the program. 40 | 41 PROGRAM RESULTS The Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills program was successful in achieving the core outcomes envisaged during the program design. The Key desired outcome of the Program was to create a pool of digitally relevant youth who are able to trade their technical ICT skills in return for an increase in their income through skills matching opportunities in [IBM Picture Here] formal setups (internship & employment opportunities). While the impact of the program cannot be measured immediately we have seen indicative results around key indicators as follows: Participants Results As part of the implementation of the Programme, several successes were achieved which makes the programme a very critical platform for building human capital and ICT skills in the State. The following key programme indicators were achieved at the completion of the program: 185 185 participants were selected from 2,818 applications to participate in the digital skills program (i.e., 180 participants and 5 student monitors from Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission). This consisted of 93 participants trained on programming & tech stream while 92 participants were trained on digital marketing, graphics and design streams. The 50% female participation threshold was also Participants achieved with 92 females and 93 males enrolled in the program. Achieved 97% retention rate with 179 out of 185 participants successfully completing the program . Only 6 participants dropped out of the program and were successfully replaced with participants on the waiting lists. The reason for dropping out of the program include the following: (1) New opportunities related to job opportunities 50% or educational advancement, which required that participants exit from the programme and (2) Disciplinary action as a result of absenteeism for three consecutive days without female any valid reason given that participants were required sign participation agreements participation committing to availability to attend classes and other activities of the program as a prerequisite to staying in the program. 2,818 Through an income analysis survey which was carried out during the middle of program implementation, and at the end of the program implementation, a total of 168 participants participated in the survey and reported a gross income of USD33,437 earned through sourcing of (1) Short term contracts on digital marketing, website development and database development work, (2) E-lancing work from Upwork and Applications Fiverr and (3) entrepreneurial activity by participants. The survey focused on collecting data on their source of earnings and how their acquired skills contributed to the income earned. The survey also assessed the status of employment and feedback on the impact of the program on their quality of life. 45 (25%) participants reported having full time employment as a result of acquiring 97% digital skills. Retention Rate 26 (14%) participants have been connected to internship opportunities as a result of their acquired skills across both government and private sector entities. 53 (30%) participant’s profiles were approved by Upwork and Fiverr. 25 (14%) participants have formed entrepreneurial outfits by formalizing and USD33,437 registering their new businesses and engaging in short term work opportunities. A total Reported Gross Income income of USD6,187 was reported around their digital solutions. An example of a newly formed business formed during program implementation was Team Tech Bot, which made an estimated USD1,388 partnering with Natview Technology to deliver a government based website for the Kaduna State Rural Urban Water Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA). 42 | 43 NAME: They have an app that pays people in exchange for their waste NANA AISHA MURTALA which they use to grow the soldier fly as an organic fertilizer to grow yield. During the Aiki Hackathon Event themed: “Innovate AGE RANGE: for Kaduna”, they have secured their first grant from Natview 18-25 YRS Foundation. STREAM: Through the program, she was also able to start a public PROGRAMMING AND speaking club to help people practice their public speaking TECH skills. NAME: MONDAY JAMES ABAH EXCERPT: AGE RANGE: “The Program has challenged my creativity and logical thinking. 18-25 YRS Whenever I am given a project, I always put in my best, but I found out that my performance was average. I had to put in more STREAM: planning, more ideas into my work just to catch up with the race. PROGRAMMING AND Click-On Kaduna is not just an average educational program. We TECH get to have fun while learning. We also get to develop our professional skills that can be used in the real world” Meet our Star Achievers Nana Aisha is a graduate of Human Anatomy from Ahmadu Bello EXCERPT: University Zaria. She also has a master’s degree in health “This programme has through its modules upgraded my economics. Her passion to switch into Information Technology led knowledge, I now understand programming and the necessary her to further study basic computer skills at Digital Bridge language I need to accomplish tasks or projects. I plan to use Institute Kano. these skills to earn money for myself so I can achieve the digital Nigeria of my dream The competitive labour market was always a stumbling block to ” gaining full time employment. The change in career path posed significant challenged for her during her job search. She also tried Monday James Abah is one of our star achievers. He is 23 years to dabble into start-up businesses without success. She was old and a Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE) holder. about to engage in voluntary work with the Red Cross when the Monday is one of our participants with special needs (amputee). offer for Click-On Kaduna came. He was employed as a computer operator at Redehub ng with the responsibility of tutoring students on basic computer Through the Click-On Kaduna program, she became proficient in knowledge. He tried numerous freelancing platforms but wasn't web development especially the use of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and getting success due to lack of necessary skills. database to create solutions and portfolios across her passion for public work. She noted that the significant improvement in her Through the Digital Skills Programme, Monday now understands creative and conceptual thinking especially working under programming and is an intermediate skilled user of various pressure came from the Click-On Kaduna projects and programming languages and script such as PHP, JavaScript and assignments. As a result of the skills garnered in the programme, AngularJS to achieve tasks and earn income. Through the Nana Aisha is currently an IT Administrator with Zenith Bank Plc, program, Monday is now an approved freelancer with Fiverr one of the foremost banks in Nigeria. (https://www.fiverr.com/smartmikey). His portfolio of work done so far can be found on his personal page: She has also networked with really amazing people in the http://smartmikey.rf.gd/ program with whom she shares common interests. Nana Aisha has been able to start up a company with her colleagues in Monday also got an opportunity as a part time instructor with Click-On Kaduna called She-Cycle. Lexington Hub. Recently, he got admission to study accounting at the Kaduna State University. Monday hopes to continue to use his skill as a freelancer to Through the Digital Skills Programme, Jeremiah has gotten 3 improve his income, Monday reported earning USD2,464 between short term contracts in Australia, a student club website and a December and January through his freelancing work and hopes to digital marketing gig to improve visibility of a continue self-improvement to make sustainable income. He is printing/publishing house. He has set up and fully incorporated currently also working on the 815 Skincare Products website. a graphics design company (Redesignz & Multimedia Ltd). He plans to use the platform to set up an ecommerce site for his Lexington Hub is a growing ICT hub targeted at providing digital graphics and printing works. He is excited with the new skills and literacy to the residents of Kaduna to make them more possibilities and opportunities he has gained from participating employable. 815 Skincare Products was one of the partners in the program. Jeremiah has reported a gross income of USD during the Click-On Kaduna pilot program. It is a growing SME in 3,760 as a result of the skills he has acquired from the training natural organic skincare products and is looking for the as he hopes to partner with more of his classmates as he opportunity to tap into the global marketplace to sell their progresses in his entrepreneurial journey. Jeremiah codesigned products. the branding for AikiDay and handled the prints and graphics element of the event which was highly successful. He currently Monday is a Certified IBM User and Google Analytics User with signed a partnership agreement with Natview Technology to focus on IoT, Block Chain, Artificial Intelligence and Web manage their branding portfolio. Development, GCP and Google Analytics. . Jeremiah hopes that Click-On Kaduna is here to stay and the He describes himself as a passionate coder ready to learn about participants will be provided with necessary mentorship support technology and learning. He is a good team player, curious and after the programme to continue their growth trajectory. He is enjoys tasks that challenge him to learn. He says excited and believes programmes like this connect the citizens “I do my best to stay on top of challenges and give no excuse. I to government because of the lasting positive impact the believe in possibilities and like to make things excellent. I have a programme has brought to so many people in his class. vision of a digital Nigeria.” NAME: NAME: JEREMIAH TISAN GWAZA HAUWA ABUBAKAR AGE RANGE: AGE RANGE: 25-35 YRS 18-25 YRS STREAM: STREAM: PROGRAMMING AND DIGITAL MARKETING TECH EXCERPT: EXCERPT: “This programme has through its modules upgraded my “Click-on Kaduna has done extremely well in providing a life knowledge, I now understand programming and the necessary changing experience and being the stepping stone for my language I need to accomplish tasks or projects. I plan to use career. I recommend that Click-on Kaduna be the supporting these skills to earn money for myself so I can achieve the digital platform it already is, by helping me establish a solid network. Nigeria of my dream” Thank you!” Meet our Star Achievers Meet our Star Achievers Jeremiah is one of our star achievers. He holds a National Hauwa Abubakar is one of the inspiration stories from the Innovative Diploma in Multimedia Technology from Yahaya programme. She was not gainfully engaged. She puts it better by Hamza Institute of Technology, Mando, Kaduna. He studied saying: “Looking back, I can definitely see that I was very busy Graphics Design, Printing and Publishing. doing absolutely nothing, I was confidently achieving and celebrating the wrong goals and missing great stuff out there”. 44 | 45 She describes herself as shy and lacking in self-confidence to Meet our Star Achievers excel in achieving high expectations. Aisha Abubakar is one of the star achievers. She is a Computer Today, through the Digital Skills Programme, Hauwa describes Scientist turned Interior Designer from the Interior Design herself as a result focused digital marketer with thorough Institute UK, she has a Diploma in Business Innovation and understanding of Audio/Visual production, Business/Marketing Entrepreneurial Finance from Kaduna Business School. She is a Strategy, Content creation & Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, 2019 Fellow of Tony Elumelu Foundation and a YALI Google Analytics & Ads, Interactive technology and Mobile Entrepreneur. Aisha is set to graduate from the Digital Skills marketing. She has certified badges from IBM, SEM Rush, Google Programme as an expert in Digital Marketing and Graphics Digital Skills for Africa, Google Analytics and Google Ads. Aisha is employed and owns a business. She teaches at a Hauwa and Ugomma Orji both participants of the Digital primary school to pay her bills. Through the Digital Skills Marketing stream worked under their group project Programme she is now able to apply her digital skills to promote activity(Jahuza Group) to jointly set up a content strategy business her business. She describes herself as a creative person with called Anything Advert NG and launched their first advertising diversified knowledge, skills and experience in volunteerism, video on twitter for a locally homemade juice packaging company. business, private and public sector. (https://twitter.com/i/status/1210889075366014976). They hope to push the content on their HyperEve YouTube channel As a result of the programme, Aisha is now conversant with (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9BCOjJFfoRfL_YsVhqObFg? Social Engine Marketing, Content Strategy, Email Marketing, reload=9) for advertising businesses and products by uploading Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Database and quality contents consistently, boosting and analysing them using WordPress Development. She achieved certifications in Google latest marketing and graphics software. Analytics for Beginners, Google Digital Skills for Africa, IBM Digital Nation Africa: Badges in Enterprise Design Thinking, The Jahuza group, which Hauwa is part of; has also gotten Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence and SEMrush additional branding short term work with Natview Foundation Fundamentals, during the programme implementation and this (https://natviewfoundation.org) to help repackage the website has provided more visibility and reliability on engaging with and build interactive content to gain visibility for the site. The clients. group has worked on search engine optimization strategy and video content for the website which will be launched soon. For example, Aisha was able to get short term job contracts to The programme has shown her the unlimited opportunities (1) conduct a 3-month SEO plan for Pan-African Research available in the digital marketing space and how best to tap that Development International Consortium (PARDIC) which is yet to energy using simple and creative techniques that would seem go live (2) develop a digital footprint for Royal Booking Hub extremely difficult and impossible to the average user. (https://web.facebook.com/royalbookinghub/) by providing digital presence in facebook, twitter and instagram and also (3) NAME: designed a Logo for Zee Series Design. She reported earning a AISHA ABUBAKAR gross income of USD 600 as a result of using the digital skills she has acquired. AGE RANGE: 26-35 YRS NAME: ARNOLD NDUBISI STREAM: DIGITAL MARKETING AGE RANGE: 26-35 YRS STREAM: DIGITAL MARKETING EXCERPT: “I have learned to collaborate and work as a team. I now leverage on the expertise of others to build a more successful brand. I also re-branded my business and use the digital space to target the right paying clients!” EXCERPT: “I think the only recommendation is for "Click on Kaduna" to create an enabling platform or environment where we can get jobs that allow practicing all that have been learnt. As the saying goes "Practice makes Perfect". Thank You!” Meet our Star Achievers Arnold is a graduate of Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University and Kaduna Polytechnic where he bagged a Post Graduate Diploma and Higher National Diploma respectively. Arnold describes himself as currently unemployed and looking for opportunities to get a good paying job through the skills he has garnered. He works as a part time Graphic Designer and a Project researcher for final year students in tertiary institutions within Kaduna state. As a result of the program, Arnold has gained knowledge around SEM, Content Strategy, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Graphics, Social Media Marketing and World. He has gained certification from IBM and Google Analytics. He has also improved on his graphics skills which has attracted a number of clients and enhanced his quality of earnings as a result of the skills garnered. Arnold is very good at illustrations in 2-D designs especially using the WACOM tablets. Through the program, Arnold has implemented a number of graphics gigs for SMEs in Kaduna and Abuja. Part of the SMEs include Adejoh Cakes in which he helped with packaging designs and logo development. Arnold reported a gross income of USD 432 as a result of skills he has acquired from the program. He says the program has impacted him so much in the area of seeing the whole new possibilities online. Participants Comments and Testimonials NAME: NAME: Ibrahim Sani Hauwa Abubakar STREAM: STREAM: Digital Marketing, Digital Marketing, Graphics & Design Graphics & Design “The Last six (6) months have been eye-opening and interesting “Honestly, it was not what I was expecting. It was uniquely for me. I thought it was going to be an easy ride but I have learnt different from the kind of training I have attended. The program to work with teams from different backgrounds and different was engaging and truly six (6) months intense. There were a lot mind sets. It’s an unforgettable experience because it taught me of assignments and projects to support and hand hold us to what exactly I need to learn, who to learn it from and how to learn achieve a lot. it efficiently. Beyond the learning, the boot camps and soft skills Through the program, I am now working as an intern with Natview development sessions were amazing. I was able to effectively Technology; using data science to solve health sector challenges learn and practice public speaking. I have now setup a digital in Kaduna State through the use of data. I have also had the advertising agency called Hyper Eve with my colleagues to roll opportunity to work with the Special Adviser on Creative Arts to out marketing campaigns for organizations wanting to achieve the Kaduna State Government to develop a creative arts policy in broader reach to target audiences and through this knowledge, the State. I have gained a lot of opportunities through the Digital I have been able to make some earnings from my newly acquired Skills Program” skill.” 46 | 47 NAME: NAME: Rukayya Sani Monday James Abah STREAM: STREAM: Programming & Tech Programming & Tech “Finishing Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills program is a huge “I remember when I knew nothing about programming and milestone for me. This is because I had no experience in databases but now I am able to create and manage databases programming and tech. I also did not graduate with a B.Sc. in even at an organizational scale. It is really awesome how far I Computer Science since I majored with a degree in Microbiology. have come through this program.” The journey has been incredibly sometimes a bit stressful but through this programme, I have been able to add more value to my employers as I am currently managing a Government-based website and strategy. ” NAME: Akeem Olawale Green STREAM: Programming & Tech “My success story has been great. First, I have been able to start a business, a digital marketing agency. I have created a website for Kaduna State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency from start to end for around $1,000 through supervision from the instructors and teaching assistants. I have also formed a team with my colleagues on a program called chatbot where citizens can interact with the government. I have also gotten additional opportunities and contracts from 2 SMEs (fashion brand and a school).” PROGRAM OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES 48 | 49 In order to objectively assess the potential impact and outcomes However, it was agreed that interaction with the participants of the programme, it is very important to ascertain the position would engender more accurate responses using both a and base level of the participants prior to the programme questionnaire and focused group discussions approach. intervention. This is important so as to get an accurate sense of participants’ status prior to attending the programme and The responses attached in Annex 5.1 give a complete overview ensures that a comparison can be made with the end line status of information from the primary source of data. A summary of of participants following the program implementation. results from the baseline questionnaire are provided in the figures and tables below. The baseline level data was collected through a series of questionnaires specifically tailored to provide information on Table 1: Digital Skills Programme Baseline Questionnaire agreed indicators such as: (1) Employment & Income, (2) Skills & Respondents Accreditation and (3) Sensitization and Information; which was then administered to program participants during the Orientation CLASSIFICATION # OF RESPONDENTS % Program. BASIC 97 60% The approach adopted was participatory with the team administering the questionnaire to all participants that attended INTERMEDIATE 65 40% the orientation training. The initial process was to ensure participants who were selected for the program completed the TOTAL 162 questionnaire online before the commencement of the program. RESPONDENTS Source: Click-On Kaduna Digital Skills Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Baseline Questionnaire A. Analysis of Baseline Questionnaire by Gender Out of a total of 162 respondents which represents 90% of participants enrolled for the program, 88 (54.3%) respondents were male while 74(46.7%) respondents were female. These numbers indicate a good sample size representation with over 97% male respondents and 82% female respondents’ representation. GENDER # OF RESPONDENTS % MALE 88 54% FEMALE 74 46% TOTAL 162 RESPONDENTS B. Analysis of Baseline Questionnaire by State of Residence A significant number (94%) of participants reported Kaduna state as their primary state of residence which indicated that most of the participants selected were indigenes of Kaduna. However, the data also shows a total of eight (8) other States were represented with an even spread of four (4) from the southern region of the country especially the south-south geopolitical zone and four (4) from the northern part of the with at least more than one employee as shown in the table country with particular focus on the north-central zone. below. Participants from these states reported Kaduna as a secondary state of residence. The results indicate the general acceptance STATUS & TYPE OF # OF % of the program by neighbouring states and also from states in EMPLOYMENT RESPONDENTS the southern part of the country. It also indicates the passion of young people to gain digital skills for better income PARTICIPANTS 70 38% opportunities. REPORTING EMPLOYMENT STATE # OF RESPONDENTS % Of Which Full Time 23 33% Employed KADUNA 152 94% Of Which Some other 47 67% CROSS RIVER 2 1% form of Employment KWARA 2 1% - Of which informal 25 53% retail business AKWA-IBOM 1 0.6% - Of which freelancers 10 21% RIVERS 1 0.6% - Of which 12 26% ANAMBRA 1 0.6% entrepreneurship KATSINA 1 0.6% D. Analysis of Baseline Questionnaire by Monthly Earnings KOGI 1 0.6% There were 67 out of 70 respondents, who reported as FEDERAL CAPITAL 1 0.6% productively employed, disclosed their income with the data TERRITORY (F.C.T.) showing 91% of respondents receiving remuneration lower than fifty thousand naira (