The Nigerian government announced the establishment of a Tourism Academy in Lagos in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and is now in discussions with several private sector stakeholders.
This was revealed in a statement issued by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, on Friday during the graduation of the first group of Terra Kulture-owned Terra Academy For the Arts trainees (TAFTA)
The Academy, according to the Minister, would provide accessible vocational and managerial transformational training for the tourist and hospitality sectors.
According to the minister, Nigeria was chosen in recognition of its enormous strides in the Creative Industry, which were approved at the global conference on Tourism, Culture, and the Creative Industries held in Lagos last November, he added plans to work with Nollywood to positively change Africa's image.
“We are very keen to expand the opportunities available to our youths through training. I am therefore happy to announce that we are currently working with the UNWTO and some private sector players to establish a Tourism Academy in Nigeria,” he stated.
“In recognition of our country’s giant strides in the Creative Industry, Nigeria was chosen as one of the two countries in Africa to host the Academy, the UNWTO also plans to work with Nollywood to positively change Africa’s image,” he added.
The minister also shed light on the fact the Academy plans to train 65,000 kids between the ages of 16 and 35 over the next five years, and that it will be supplemented by organizations such as TAFTA to teach Nigerian youngsters how to be gainfully employed using their creative ability.
“Tourism Academy will be complemented by organizations such as TAFTA to train Nigerian youths on how to be gainfully employed through their creative abilities. With TAFTA targeting 65,000 youths between the ages of 16 and 35 for training in the next five years, I can say without equivocation that TAFTA is contributing its own quota – and it’s a huge quota – to efforts to solve the youth unemployment problem in Nigeria,” the minister said.