Nigeria Needs 500,000 Data Protection Officers, Says NDPC

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has said no fewer than 500,000 data protection officers are needed to counter the existing manpower deficit in the country.

NDPC’s National Commissioner, Vincent Olatunji, who revealed this in a press briefing on Monday, noted that there are plans to collaborate with private instructors, universities, and polytechnics in an initiative aimed at training professionals in data protection.

 “There is a deficit of manpower in these areas and in an area like data protection, we need a minimum of 500,000 data protection officers,” Olatunji said. The certified ones in the country are not more than 10,000, hence the dire need for experts in the area to bridge the skills gap.”

According to NAN, on January 8, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), in a circular, directed heads of polytechnics and mono-technics to unbundle the higher national diploma (HND) in computer science into four specialised areas. The areas are artificial intelligence, networking and cloud computing, software and web development, cyber security and data protection.

Olatunji said there is an urgent need to consider existing curriculums to reflect change in line with best practices for global competitiveness. He said the move by NBTE is a step towards a necessary change in developing data protection officers for the service of the country.

NAN