IT Workforce
With over 120
million people, Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa. They have
workforce of approximately 66 million people and an abundance of unskilled
workers throughout the country. The majority of the population works in the
agriculture industry and only an insignificant number of people work in
information technology. The low number of IT workers can be attributed to a number
of factors but the most significant is education. The literacy rate in 1999 was
62.7%,[1]
much improved over the 1995 rate of 57.1%, but still considerably low. Few
foreign –based Nigerian IT professional return to their country. Much of the
Nigeria-based ICT talent pursues opportunities in the United States and other
developed countries.[2]
A software
industry survey performed by Soriyan, Korpela, and Mursu[3]
produced the following data on the information technology workforce
specifically for software firms. From the study,
Most of the information technology
professionals work for small firms
Approximately 1% of the IT professionals work
for firms where there are more than 100 IT professional
Most of the IT professionals in the country
have at least a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent
The average age is between 30-39 years
The average work experience is 1-5 years
Most companies have less than 20% female
workers
Once could
conclude that these results would be similar for the industry as a whole.
Corruption has
plagued Nigeria for many years and one of the areas hardest hit by the epidemic
was education. The current administration is working to assure the quality of
education in Nigeria is significantly improved. The National IT Policy addresses
the need for IT education stating a course of action to overcome the limited
number of qualified IT professionals and the need for a strong IT curricula in
primary, secondary, and tertiary schools.[4]
Although Nigeria is one of the few African nations with universities that offer
computer science degrees, the limited number of IT professional is still a
major constraint for the country’s IT growth and development. According to the
Economist Intelligence Unit, in 2001, there were just over 1,300 enrolled students
in computer studies and about 40 information technology teachers in the
country.[5]
There are 27
polytechnic colleges in the country and 36 public universities. Many of these
institutions offer IT classes but a limited number offer degree programs. In
addition to the lack of computer-related degree program, some universities have
very limited access to technology. In 1999, many of the public universities in
Nigeria offered students the ability to store and read e-mail. Email was the
extent of information technology.[6] Today, there are a number of universities
that have come together to develop their own network, National Universities Network,
(NUNet) to directly access the Internet backbone assuring more reliable and faster
connections. Students and faculty are using the Internet for research and
shared learning experiences.
IT education is
progressing. In addition to the cooperative networks being built, there are a
number of programs to teach computer literacy, and the Universities Commission
has been pushing for more advanced IT degree programs.
