By ABBAS BAMALLI

The Katsina State Government, through the State’s Bureau of Statistics, has engaged final-year students of tertiary institutions in the state on data analysis and carrier guidance skills training.

The state’s Statistician General, Prof. Saifullahi Sani-Matazu, disclosed this during the opening of a 2-day training for the first batch of 250 students of tertiary institutions in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the training tagged: “Data Analysis and Empowerment Bootcamp 2025?, was organized in collaboration with Gwagware Foundation.

According to Sani-Matazu, the training is designed to build the capacity of the final-year students on data analysis, using hybrid methods.

He said: “You know, there are some emerging developments in the field of report writing, informatics, among others, where you need certain skills using hybrid softwares.

“So, we have seen so many things one cannot get at the university, especially from research methods, courses that students are passing through, which are mostly theoretical, but are lacking in most of the institutions.

“So, we organized this in order to bridge the practical gap, to equip our students and strengthen their capacity on how to handle sophisticated softwares that are very expensive to obtain.”

Sani-Matazu said that with the support of the state government, they have procured enterprise versions of those softwares for installation on an unlimited number of devices.

“We are leveraging that to ensure that we install these softwares free-of-charge to our students, as well as train them on how to make use of them for their projects and assignments.

“And at the same time, they can use it for other students and other partners, engaging in data collection, data analysis and report writing, so that they can earn money from the skill they acquired.

“They can stand on their own, they can even employ and hire others for them to make a living out of the skill they have acquired,” he said.

According to the statistician general, the bureau normally employs graduates that are in the labour market in conducting surveys, “but we have decided to extend this kind of ad-hoc assignment to students.

“With this kind of training, the students will have a chance to get employees so that they can use the little resources they are earning to support themselves,” he noted.

Also, the state’s Commissioner for Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, Alhaji Muhammad Isah-Musa, said the training was important because “it catches the students young.”

According to him, the training will equip the students to know the importance of data, “because the world is now powered by data in all aspects of life.”

He therefore, urged the students to key-in and give the training all the necessary support to succeed, especially in making an impact on the society.

Earlier, the Chairman, Gwagware Foundation, Alhaji Yusuf Ali-Musa, said the training was the first of its kind in the state, hence the need for the students to make use of the knowledge for the development of Katsina State and the nation in general. (NAN)