The Rivers State Government says it is on the verge of establishing Information Communications and Technology (ICT) clusters in the 23 local government areas.
The Special Adviser to the State Governor on Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), Mr Ibifuro Asawo disclosed this while declaring open the Batch 6 Orientation Course in ICT organised by the Rivers State Government for over 300 Rivers youths at the ICT Centre, Aba Road, Port Harcourt.
Asawo, who said his office was discussing with local government chairmen on modalities towards the actualisation of the project, said each of the ICT clusters would be equipped with not less than 50 computers.
He said the 23 local government councils had been urged to nominate 20 participants each for the on going Bach six programme by next week.
According to him, the overall objective of the programme is to equip Rivers youth with the necessary skills for the challenges ahead as well as create room for enterpreneural development across the 23 local government areas.
Asawo challenged the participants to see the training as a life time opportunity to improve their knowledge in all areas of ICT as well as gain new experiences that would reposition them in the global job market.
He told newsmen that over 2000 youths had already been trained, stressing that they were making impacts across the country. The Special Adviser said the participants would be linked to the job market at the end of the programme.
Speaking to newsmen, Miss Scarlet Obele, an engineering undergraduate of Madona University said she was happy to be nominated for the programme, adding that it would help her in her engineering course.
Also speaking, another trainee, Opera Ihenacho said as a business man, the programme would help him to branch out to all areas of business endeavour.
John Bibor