The Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy has trained 438 civil servants from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on digital transformation.
The one-day training, held on Friday in Abuja in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), carried the theme “Enabling Digital Government Transformation: Leadership, Training and Citizen-Centric Systems”.
Speaking at the session, William Scheffers, a Director at TG Consulting, emphasised that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had become a necessity for government officials.
“Governments are under pressure to digitise services and improve citizen experience. ICT training ensures that staff can operate, maintain and innovate with new systems,” Scheffers said.
He warned that without ICT skills, governments risk falling behind in delivering efficient and secure services. According to him, gaps in digital competence create inefficiencies, data risks and wasted IT investments, while trained officials are better able to adapt to new policies and citizen needs.
Scheffers identified low digital literacy and resistance to change as major barriers to ICT adoption, and stressed the importance of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies in shaping future ICT training for civil servants.
He added that rising cyber threats made cybersecurity training indispensable, while cloud adoption required new competencies in security, architecture and operations. “Data analytics and AI literacy are increasingly demanded in policy design and execution,” he noted.
Scheffers further observed a shift toward microlearning, online platforms and hybrid delivery models as more practical approaches to building digital capacity in the public sector.
