The Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), has unveiled a nationwide free digital skills programme aimed at students and educators across Nigerian tertiary institutions.
What’s on Offer
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The initiative brings cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and other emerging digital skills to participants.
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AWS and the Ministry will jointly cover 100% of certification costs—each contributing 50%—making training and certification completely free.
Who Can Participate
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Open to all federal, state, and private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
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Pilot phase has already onboarded coordinators from 43 federal institutions, with ongoing implementation.
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Application Process
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Heads of institutions—Vice Chancellors, Rectors, and Provosts—must appoint a designated coordinator for the programme.
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Nominations are submitted via a Google Forms link, with a deadline set for 5 pm on July 19, 2025.
Strategic Intent
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The programme aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).
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Its wider goal is to fast-track Nigeria’s transformation into a $1 trillion digital economy, recognising that 30–45% of future jobs will demand digital proficiency.
AWS’s Role
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AWS Academy has already trained 50,000 Nigerians since 2017 via platforms like AWS Educate and AWS re/Start.
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Globally, AWS aims to train 29 million people for free by 2025; Nigeria is part of this ambition
