The Nigerian government has been urged to widen the scope and mandates of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) to provide more job opportunities for citizens, especially youths.
This, according to stakeholders in the Telecom-ICT sector, will fully address the issue of skill gaps in the industry.
The experts who were speaking at a Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Skill Gaps in the Telecom Value Chain said the DBI should be more empowered and funded, and its scope and mandates expanded to integrate more practical training, rather than establish a new National Telecom Academy.
A statement by the Manager, Public Affairs DBI, Mr Soji-Eze Fagbemi, said that the event organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Lagos has the theme “Bridging the Telecom Value Chain Skill Gap: Empowering Indigenous Talents for Industry Growth”.
The programme brought together key stakeholders across the telecom ecosystem, including operators, academia, regulators, manufacturers, start-ups, development partners, government agencies, and state-level representatives, among other participants.
For the Vice President of the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund at the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr Abraham Durosawo, “the mandates and scope of the DBI should be looked into and expanded; this would definitely address some gaps noticed in the telecom market.
“The DBI has done excellently well but needed to be strengthened further,” he added.
He suggested the expansion of DBI shareholders, while more investors who have the capital and are interested in the industry should be brought on board.
He, however, differs on the planned establishment of a new National Telecom Academy, saying that the DBI can be strengthened and expanded with improved funding.
“Why do we need a National Telecom Academy when we can strengthen the DBI?
“The shareholders of DBI should be expanded. We need to bring in investors who are long-term investors, who have the capital and who are interested in the market.
I also want to encourage those in the industry to be shareholders,” he advised.
Other speakers at the forum all agreed that skill shortage was one of the most pressing challenges across Nigeria’s digital economy.
Specific areas identified as needing urgent professional intervention are RF engineering, fibre planning, cybersecurity, data centre operations, and project management.
Also speaking was Chairman of ALTON, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, an actor in the industry, who stressed the need for mid-level skills. He said the DBI should integrate more practical training, with operators sponsoring campuses and offering scholarships, certifications, and job pathways to strengthen retention.
He added, “These so-called small skills are critical. In four years, I lost 12 skilled technicians in my company to Canada, Germany, the US and the UK.
“It’s not just about training them but retaining them with better incentives and social guarantees,” he said.
One of the resolutions stressed that “addressing Nigeria’s telecom skill gaps is central to sustaining growth, reducing dependence on foreign expertise, and ensuring the country’s competitiveness in the global digital economy.”