Abuja, March 18, 2024 – A collaboration between the Federal Government and the U.S. Cybersecurity Institute, Lab Four, is expected to create 50,000 Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) jobs.
These jobs will include tele sales, customer service, virtual administrative assistant, marketing/social media assistant and tech/cybersecurity.
Doris Anite, the Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, announced this in Abuja on Monday at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony.
She said the initiative, under the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), which signed the MoU with Lab Four, could bring an annual influx of up to 1.2 billion dollars to the Nigerian economy.
“The MoU being signed between NATEP and Lab Four is to channel 50,000 BPO jobs to Nigeria over the next three years.
“In job categories such as telesales, customer service, virtual administrative assistant, marketing/social media assistant and tech/cybersecurity.
“The jobs generated through this partnership have the potential to annually attract up to 1.2 billion dollars into the Nigerian economy through remuneration to the employed persons.
“In addition to about 60 million dollars that it will provide to develop the BPO ecosystem through direct support to the individual BPOs,” Anite said.
The minister said that NATEP represented a significant national effort at establishing Nigeria as a premier international centre for service exports, talent sourcing, and talent exports.
Anite said NATEP would act as a specialised body to tackle the specific requirements and obstacles encountered in the talent and service export sector.
“The programme lays special emphasis on enhancing competitiveness, fostering innovation, and driving sustainable growth through trade in services.
“It will catalyze the development of the BPO and Talent Export industries and ecosystems, which are the two channels for NATEP’s activities,” she said.
The minister outlined the four primary goals of the NATEP initiative, which include generating one million service-export jobs in the next five years, enhancing Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and revenue, fostering economic development, and stimulating the expansion of related industries and support services.
Additionally, it seeks to enhance skills and reinforce the Nigerian brand.
Anite stressed the importance of forming strategic alliances with domestic and international institutions to effectively fulfil NATEP’s objectives.
“As such, our partnership with Lab Four will be one of the many partnerships we will have to ensure that Nigeria becomes a global hub for thriving micro, mini, and mega BPOs.
“And as a prime location for high-quality talent. We will create an environment for the growth of the BPO industry across the country.
“To enable workers to work in BPOs near their locations of residence,” she said.
Femi Adeluyi, the National Coordinator of NATEP, said the programme would focus on the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector.
He promised a transparent job selection process with only the most qualified candidates being shortlisted after thorough evaluation. (GBN)
