A digital communication expert, Jubril Saba, at the weekend urged Nigerian youths to fill the about five million vacant cloud jobs across 45 countries around the world.

Saba, who said that the digital future runs in the Cloud, explained that in 2021, 7.8 million cloud jobs were advertised across 45 countries against 2.8 million existing cloud professionals, leaving a gap of five million yet-to-be closed.

He identified the immeasurable importance of Cloud technology in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and general telecommunications network.

According to Saba, the Vice President, Operations and Chief Technical Officer IHS, the digital future runs in the Cloud, every call, every transaction and every stream in Nigeria passes through a tower before reaching the cloud.

Delivering his Keynote Address: Building Careers and Opportunities in Cloud Computing at the Graduation Ceremony of 29 youths trained by the Amazon Web Services (AWS) with the support of Ilorin Innovation Hub, Saba said: “digital future runs in the cloud. Whether we are streaming, transacting, using artificial intelligence or running telecommunications network, cloud technology is the foundation underneath it.

“What was once a specialist corner of technology is now a core business capability, and organisations everywhere are looking for people who can design, build, secure and run cloud environment,” he enjoined.

He said: “we build and run those towers. You will build and run what sits at the other end. It is the same infrastructure, and you have just joined the other half of it.

“At the opening of this programme, you must have heard a quoted figure of the 2021 position of cloud jobs market: 7.8 million cloud jobs advertised across 45 countries against 2.8 million cloud professionals. A gap of five million. That gap has not closed. It is why this morning matters.

“Cloud work does not ask where you are sitting. The workload you manage may be in

Ireland, and the team you join may be in Lagos, Nairobi or Frankfurt. Your address is not your ceiling. Your skill is.

“Now the honest part. Your first role will most likely be cloud support, IT support or junior cloud operations. Do not despise that beginning. Architects are made in the ticket queue, because that is where you learn how systems actually fail.

“The people who rise fastest are not the ones who memorise the most commands.

They are the ones who understand the problem, think clearly under pressure, work well with others, and use the technology to

solve something real. Technology does not transform organisations. People do,” he urged.

Zumah Yahaya, the Director Programs Ilorin Innovation Hub, while applauding the programme’s dedicated facilitators, recalled that of the 209 applicants for the program three months ago, only 30 made the list out of which 29 graduated on Friday.

“Over the last 12 weeks, you didn’t just learn about the cloud in theory. You deployed compute instances on Amazon EC2, managed automated scaling, provisioned relational and non-relational databases, wired virtual networks, automated infrastructure using AWS CloudFormation, and worked through serverless architectures with AWS Lambda.

“You also showed up for yourselves professionally, polishing your resumes, mastering the STAR interview method, and learning what it takes to thrive in global corporate workplaces.

“Out of the 30 of you who began, 29 carried through to the finish line—representing an exceptional 96.7 per cent completion rate.

“Your commitment translated directly into performance, finishing with an impressive median score of 83.2 per cent on your comprehensive final assessments, and a top score of 94.3 per cent.

“Even more remarkable: when we presented an early certification sitting for 15 of you, every single one of those 15 candidates wrote and passed their AWS certification examination. A 100 per cent pass rate right out of the gate!

“To the remaining candidates stepping into your testing window next week: your cohort has already proven that the preparation works, the training is solid, and the badges are waiting for you,” she informed.

She, however, hinted that a cohort, Mohammed Adebayo Salman secured a grant to attend AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas.

The youths just concluded three-month training in IHS-AWS re/Start Cloud Computing Program at the Ilorin Innovation Hub.