Monday, 11 May 2009 13:05

HP has been finding out from three NGOs in Africa what progress they have made with GET-IT training within their organisations. The NGOs are quite different, but they are all focused on providing effective education for students and unemployed young people.
 
The second of our three interviews is with Gabriel Ugwu of EBSU/ICT Research Centre in the Ebonyi State of Nigeria. EBSU has an ICT research centre that trains students in IT, with the view to helping graduates become self employed. EBSU’s overall mission is to enhance human development and empowerment.
EBSU was selected as a GET-IT centre in 2008 and it is within their ICT research centre that they conduct GET-IT trainings. Six trainers from EBSU, working jointly with trainers from the Centre for Skills Development and Training (CENSIRT) attended the T-Tools guidance course that took place in Abakaliki in September 2008.

In November 2008, EBSU and CENSIRT, together with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) of Nigeria organised an official opening ceremony for the HP GET-IT programme that was held in Abakaliki. The programme was officially launched by the Commissioner of Public Utilities, the Honorable Celestine Nwali. Representatives of the Government, UNIDO, entrepreneurs, graduates and under graduates from Ebonyi State University participated in the event.  

Gabriel Ugwu is Technical Manager ICT Centre, EBSU and this is what he had to say:

Q: Can you give a brief explanation of the services you provide and the community and area where you are based?
GU: Our aim is to really create a connection between the challenges of today’s technology and the solutions to these challenges. We deliver computer training for people and IT empowerment - outside and within the institution of Ebonyi State University. We have young entrepreneurs, graduates, under graduates and young secondary school leavers and we want to train them on how IT-technology can help them manage business well.

You can use IT technology to increase productivity in your business. You can use a PC to manage your contacts, increase your marketing strategy, your communications and your accounts. Our school is already an institution. Our lecturers and staff understand some of these technologies, especially IT, and they use it within the campus. We even have wireless network (EBSU Hot Spot) so anyone can connect and browse the internet.

Q: How many students have you registered (past or present) to use GET-IT in your centre and what type of educational or employment background do they have?
GU: Presently, a total of 1,112 students have registered since November 2008. Since then, 982 students have graduated and now we have 130 still in training.

In terms of education, this varies. Some of the students are graduates; some are secondary school leavers while some are already in business. Some of them have little knowledge on how to use computer and facilitate their marketing strategies. We these students, it is not hard to train them but for those how have not used a computer before we give them basic computer training beforehand.

Q: How much has the provision of GET-IT in your centre helped to create awareness of the need for greater knowledge of IT and business in your area? To what extent has it provided benefits?
GU: Since we introduced the GET-IT training in our centre, there has been a tremendous awareness of IT Knowledge and business skills. More and more people are really getting interested in IT and they enjoy being able to do business with it now. Instead of somebody waiting for a customer to come to his shop so that he can sell them something, with the help of the GET-IT programme he now knows how to design flyers and complimentary cards and how to distribute them to people so that he can create awareness for his products. He can advertise and use his contacts.

The GET-IT training shows entrepreneurs how they can use a computer to book appointments and keep them. Keeping appointments is essential for successful business. If you disappoint people, they go away. The GET-IT training has created a lot of awareness in this direction.  

In this part of the world, we are not used to computers. Sometimes you don’t know how to spend your money sensibly, (ie spending money without records). But with introduction of GET-IT training, people can now do business and know exactly how to spend their money with records. They know if they are making a gain or loss. It has created lots of awareness.

Q: Have you incorporated our GET-IT City technology into your training capabilities? Do you think this is a good approach? What do you think could be added / deleted? What feedback have you received from your students who have used it?  
GU: We are starting to introduce GET-IT City, but we need to teach people how to use a computer first. So we are approaching it gradually.

Q: What examples can you provide of how GET-IT City has helped the students in your centre with their educational / business training? What examples of best practice within GET-IT City can you highlight and why?
GU: I cannot answer this question at this stage.

Q: What examples can you provide of how GET-IT has helped the students in your centre find work or set up a business?
GU: The GET-IT training has helped students to find work in both companies and in government. As an example, Emmanuel Agha and Chinedu Okoh both received GET-IT training. They secured employment at a nearby food factory (Emmanuel Agha works in the accounts department and Chinedu OKo works in stores department). Emmanuel knows how to prepare invoices and balance accounts and Chinedu knows how to record food or items in stocks - all through using a computer.

For some students who are already in business, the GET-IT training helps them to improve their business skills. Lots of them come back to say thank you. Some of them even send emails to us expressing their joy for doing the training. They are doing well in their areas.


Questions for Nonso Chukwudindu (student still training)
Q: How long have you been undertaking the GET-IT training and what are your experiences so far?
NC: I have been training for four weeks. I have been learning different things about computers in order to enhance my studies. I can now operate Microsoft Powerpoint for my presentations and I know how to typeset and design.

Q: Have you used the GET-IT City technology and, if so, what do you think of it? How useful is it? How much benefit do you think it can provide? Do you think it needs to be changed at all and, if so, in what way?
NC: The GET-IT City training is very good. It helps me get a wider view. It’s very beneficial. I am still finding out how it works, but if I do it properly, I don’t have any complaints.


Q: Question for Mmaduka Tochukwu (student who has completed the training)
How effective and useful was the GET-IT training to you and how much has it helped you with setting up your own business or finding work?
MT: The GET-IT training has helped me so much. I graduated recently and it has helped me get the edge. Before, I did not know how to use Microsoft Excel and now I know how to balance accounts and make contacts. It has helped me with my marketing strategy and helped me know how to make contacts. I can also create my own calendar which has helped me to locate people at the right time.

As a result of my training, I have established my own little fast food business. It is only small at the moment but, if I make enough money, I can expand my business.


Finally, for Gabriel…
Q: What advice would you offer to any NGOs who have only recently started to offer GET-IT programmes?
GU: For this part of the world where computers are not common place, I would advise on having good teaching practice. When we started, we had no students and we had to develop our own strategy. So, in order to kick off the training well, it is important to have a good package designed that will get people interested. Patience is also very important.

Once the GET-IT training has been provided, there is also the issue of students wanting to start up their own business. Africans don’t have much in the way of money but they do have ideas. If there is any way that an NGO can liaise with the government or with another NGO to help them sponsor some of their trainees who have graduated to establish their own business, it would be very effective and helpful. If that succeeds, even more people would be interested.

An organisation also needs to prepare a good orientation plan for trainees. If there is no good orientation, they will not project the training effectively. It would also be good to organise an orientation or awareness campaign outside of their own centre.

HP has tried hard to establish us as a centre and our director is really happy about it. We want to thank HP for finding the time to come and train us. We will not allow it to die but rather make it grow.

We are an institution and we have lots of people who see what we do and they become naturally interested. In one class alone, we have 50 people to be trained and in a very short period we would another 50 people who have registered for another class. If we continue like that for the next 5-10 years we would make tremendous progress. We want to thank you so much!