Amazon, the world’s biggest online technology shop, has certified New Vision Institute of Technology (NVIT), Otukpo in Benue State as a leading African hub where the academia, private sector, and society converge to impart technologies and skills that will connect youths directly to global career opportunities offered by the unfolding technological revolution.

This certification was done during the recent visit of Ms Marine Houmeau, the Amazon Regional Education Program Lead, sub-Saharan Africa, to New Vision Institute of Technology Otukpo,(NVIT), where she inspected facilities and interacted with the over one hundred students currently preparing to graduate and join the global technological superhighway as workers and Entrepreneurs.

Miss Houmeau, in company of NVIT Vice Presidents, Engr Abraham Enoh and Esther Agbenu Ochoga, was welcomed to the headquarters of Idomaland by the Paramount Ruler of the Kingdom, who was represented by First Class Chief Emmanuel Okochi of Otukpo/Ohimini. In appreciation of the visit by the Amazon chief, the First Class Chief decorated Marine Houmeau in the traditional red and black wrapper and headtie.

After inspecting the state of the art facilities which includes technology laboratories and innovation centers, Ms Houmeau told journalists that she was very impressed, promising to return to Otukpo for the graduation ceremony of the first batch of NVIT graduates coming up in September 2022.

Before her visit to Benue State, the Amazon Regional Program Lead of Amazon Web Services Re-Start, had met in Abuja with the Committee of Vice Chancellors(CVC) of Nigerian Universities to explore ways in which the Nigerian Universities System could utilize opportunities offered by Amazon to re-skill and upskill Nigerian students and staff through a system of making them job ready in a highly competitive technology driven market. According to Prof Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary General of CVC, the meeting with the Amazon representative was very successful as an understanding was reached for a pilot project that will be driven by the CVC and NVIT, in conjunction with the Federal University of Health Sciences Otukpo (FUHSO).

Speaking on the Re-Start program in an exclusive interview, Marine Houmeau said that Amazon established the Project in 2018 to help youths and adults who are out of school, but who have no jobs or who are working part-time, to acquire new skills in Cloud technologies. Upon certification, Amazon would also help them secure jobs in the huge value chain of the Cloud Technology Ecosystem. In addition, Amazon provides the Re-Start curriculum free to all participants, she stressed. Included in the curriculum are Amazon Web Services, and Cloud fundamentals to help learners succeed in entry-level Cloud positions, having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills through scenario-based exercises, hands-on laboratory engagements, and coursework in which students build Linux, Python, Networking, Security, and Relational Database skills.

Ms. Marine added that learners would receive job-specific training on building effective front-line support, troubleshooting, escalation, and task automation techniques, just as AWS Re-Start also provides learners with professional skills, including effective communication, resume writing, and interview coaching to prepare for employer meetings and interviews.

New Vision Institute of Technology (NVIT) was conceptualized by Engr John Enoh with a vision to train students to attain successful careers and contribute positively and constructively in their communities, with a world view which believes that the future starts with an investment in people, for their advantage and that of their corporate communities. The total aim of the John Enoh brand is to “create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity”. To achieve this, NVIT seeks to serve as an incubator for research and a driver for compassionate innovation.

The mission of NVIT is to prepare all students with the modern Technology, Engineering skills, Knowledge, and Attitude needed to be successful in the advancement of their next educational career level or entrepreneurial engagement in employment creation in Nigeria, Africa, and beyond.

Engr John Enoh, the Edumoga-born Benue State University Trained Computer Scientist, is the President of Otukpo-based NVIT. He has more than eighteen years experience in software, telecommunications, and Information Technology. He is a global name in technology solutions architecture and an Integration Principal Engineer with extensive experience in architecting software and hardware solutions for international organizations on the global arena. The Founder and Chief Technology Designer of LaFiya TeleHealth is also the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Product Architect of Beep Tool, and co-Founder of KlaDot Incorporated, Texas, USA.

Before putting NVIT together, Engr John Enoh worked with ERICSSON Inc in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, the USA, and at IBM. He holds many professional industry certifications in Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Running affairs at NVIT are two other Idomas: Engr Abraham Enoh, Vice President of Information Technology; and Esther Agbenu Ochoga, Vice President of Client Engagement/Chief Marketing Officer.

Since its inception in Otukpo few months ago, focus of corporate bodies has been on NVIT, with visits by the Secretary General of CVC, Prof Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Architect Sonny Echono.