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Coding Bootcamps as Answer to Youth Unemployment?

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To mark International Youth Day on during the weekend, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) News looked at how learning to code can help boost youth employment and close the ICT skills gap.

The blog post identified that the technology industry is facing a problem: there is a shortage of software development professionals with the coding skills needed to fill the information and communication technology (ICT) workforce.

Even in Nigeria a good number of ICT hubs, schools, and NGOs are engaged in coding boothcamps to sharpen the skills of young people in the country.

The piece reads: “As ICTs continue to evolve at a rapid pace, talent shortages have been reported in critical areas such as cybersecurity, engineering, and general IT staff. This trend is expected to continue, with Europe facing a shortage of up to 900,000 ICT professionals by 2020 – and Chief Information Officers around the world are worried.

“But with 71 million young people unemployed worldwide, there is huge potential for young people to pursue careers as junior developers in the growing technology industry filling the necessary gaps to help advance ICT development and the global economy.

Coding Bootcamps and Youth Unemployment
“Code is a text-based ‘language’ that tells technology how to work. Everything from computer software to microwaves use code to operate: the step-by-step commands tell it what you want it to do. Coding is key to enabling our digital world – and skilled coders are in high demand around the world.

“Coding bootcamps offer an accelerated path for young people to develop the coding skills that are in high demand today. Typically, 3- to 6-month intensive in-person training programmes, they are largely aimed at people with little or no previous experience in coding. Students learn programming foundations followed by hands-on project-based exercises that aim to simulate the every-day work environment. Students learn how to code in a specific programming language and how products are developed in the real world – from problem identification to crafting and sharing ideas.

“Following the successful completion of a coding bootcamp, salaries are boosted by 38% on average, according to one study released last year – and there is strong evidence that they can help address gender equality in ICT. For example, a 22-year-old English major in the United States named Savannah Worth signed up for a 24-week web programming class with the Galvanize school and was hired by IBM as a software developer in San Francisco earning a six-figure salary after successfully completing the class.

“Recognizing their transformative potential, United States President Obama launched a pilot programme to provide government grants and loans to bootcamp students from low-income backgrounds in October 2015. Other governments are also encouraging youth participation through coding initiatives such as European Union Code Week which was launched in 2013 and aims to bring coding and digital literacy to everybody in engaging way.

“While coding bootcamps do not offer a comprehensive ‘deep knowledge’ like a more traditional computer-science degree, with ICT jobs growing in many regions around the world, they are a good place to start.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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E-Business

Transcorp Hotels Delivers Stellar H1 Results, Declares Over ₦1Bn Dividend

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Transcorp Hotels Plc has delivered a stellar performance in the first half of 2025, recording a 60% year-on-year surge in revenue to ₦47.57 billion, up from ₦29.72 billion in H1 2024. Gross profit climbed 71% to ₦36.21 billion, maintaining a strong 76% margin despite inflation and operational headwinds.

The hospitality giant, a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc, also announced an interim dividend payout of ₦1.024 billion — offering ₦0.10 per 50 kobo ordinary share to shareholders.

In a bold move, the company unveiled Nigeria’s largest corporate venue — the 5,000-seat Transcorp Centre — staking its claim as the new leader in event hospitality. Chairman Emmanuel Nnorom described the results as proof of Transcorp Hotels’ transformative strategies and unwavering investor commitment. MD/CEO Uzo Oshogwe attributed the success to relentless execution and a resilient business model.

Transcorp Hotels, renowned for iconic assets like Transcorp Hilton Abuja and its digital platform Aura, says it isn’t just leading Nigeria’s hospitality sector — it’s redefining excellence across Africa.


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Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

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Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


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NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


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