 Thanks for staying with us. Thanks for staying with us now. Digital natives are generally identified as Millennial Generation and the generation that come after as of right now, this includes Generation Z and Generation Alpha. These generations have spent nearly their entire lives surrounded by computers, digital devices and the world of social media. As young adults, digital natives should be able to use modern technology proficiently to find jobs and better prepare themselves for everyday life. Now digital native professionals are in high demand because they have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the digital world. Now they are comfortable using digital tools and technologies. They are able to find and evaluate information online and they are able to communicate and collaborate with others using digital tools. Riding the wave of digital transformation can open the doors to global opportunities by accessing careers that have a demand for digital native professionals. So today we are asking how can we become digital native professionals in the era of digital transformation. Now please, let's hear what you have to say. Remember, you can join the conversation and it's an SMS or what's up to the rate one. 8034663 can also tweet at us or rather do not exos. We'll leave it there. Alright, so let me start with, what's your name, Jennifer? You know what I'm saying? You are doing a situation smile looking at me. You are really, really fully like even your cause in the university and everything was purely technology and all of that, right? First of all, how, would I say how easy is it right now to operate like a full blown career to just say you know what this is what I want to become and you know, how is it? Is it easy to go into the digital space and just play well and do well or there are other things you need to do? I wouldn't say it's easy, right? Because there are lots of parameters and requirements that you need to check off for you to even go or play in those waters, right? So for someone like me who have always been exposed to technology, right? Being exposed to courses or even roles in tech it might be easy for me to switch from one career path to another within the tech space, right? But for someone who is coming from let's say a finance background or a commercial background and you're trying to come into tech it might not be as straightforward or smooth for you because there are things that you need to learn. The truth is even as a tech babe even as a tech babe, right? I still have to learn, right? There are lots of things, loads and loads of things to learn, right? Because we never will finish read one. So it's almost like you literally have to be constantly learning. And that's because technology evolves, right? When we started with computer, the everyday laptop that we have that wasn't what we started off with, right? We've heard about abacus, things like that. And then even the first computers were really big but now look at it, we have very tiny laptops and some people even go around with their tablets and you can move around. Some people can actually work from their phone, right? If you have a business you can generate invoice from your phone you can check your inventory, inventory management, everything from your phone, right? So that's the trajectory of technology these days. Things are changing, things are evolving. Where we are today is not where we're going to be in 10 years to come, right? The knowledge and the skills that you have now will become redundant in the next few years. So you have to keep evolving as tech is evolving. And the way to evolve is the same. So the thing is even if you check a lot of things like education now you hear things like edutech, right? Agri-tech, there is prop-tech which is real estate technology. There is a lot of things, right? So everyone is transforming or going digital rather because that's what the world is right now. So you just have to make that switch, you have to make that change. How are you, NJ? I'm great. How was it for you? How easy was it for you to switch into the digital? Like tech space? Okay, so it was, I would say it was half and half. So I came in from the business development angle of it and it's more focused on bringing the business up to standards. So whether it's finding out from opportunities in terms of sales, marketing, all around. You're looking at the digitalization of the organization on its own, how we run our business processes, how processes for even as small as approval leave and all those things, the internal structure of the business. Needed and overhauling. Yes, needed and overhauling and an upgrade. You know, from the times like Jennifer was saying from times of our course to now, now you're working with, you hear things like AWS, you are working, you know, there are different platforms and different solutions and the solutions are there to help your business, you know, how you provide these businesses to your clients, make it easier, make processing and analytics easier for you. So right now from the business angle, there's a part called, you know, is digital natives. There's the digital natives business, which is where you use new solutions and new technologies in order to change how you offer your service to your clients and even the product, the kind of products and services that you offer. So there is always constantly a need for you. For me right now is interesting and exciting because in technology, there's always something for you to learn. I'm dealing with almost about, what, over 50, between 50 and 100 solutions and you have to be on top of all of them and you're, you know, you're talking to people in different industries and you have to always know what solution they require in order to, you know, be able to run their digitalization properly. So it's crazy. Absolutely. Let's bring it out again. Sally O'Call, for NASA, right, started her career in retail sales and management and transitioned into the education sector where she serves as the head of marketing admissions and communications at Breach House College Ikoi. In recent years, Sally has made a significant impact in the exciting field of edu tech. She serves as a regional communications manager at Nextford University and a leading American based online university where she played a critical role in expanding the university's brand and presence in Nigeria. Sally is currently the community development manager at Nextford University where she leads the development and execution of stakeholders engagement events and partnerships in Nigeria. And we're really honored to have her with us in studio. Hi, Sally. Hi. Thank you for having me here today. It's a pleasure to be here to contribute to this topic. Yes, so. And it's one that's close to my heart. I can see because I saw you nodding and nodding. Both of them were talking. You are in marketing process. So I can imagine how you're saying, well, hey, like literally, right? I think it was our generation that got the millennials with the ones that got introduced into technology and all of that. But we're seeing that, you know, I mean, there's a video. Is it a Google video? And I'm not sure of a baby in the delivery room. I don't know if you've seen that video. It's so funny. I've watched it several times. The one that the baby comes out with. The baby comes out with it. And collects the mother's home. So he cuts his own. I'm going to call him. I'm going to call him. To perform the vocal. This self is and all that. And like in the truth, it might be funny. But that's the era where again, like literally, everybody right now, if you are not immersed in technology, you will truly become redundant. So how is it first of all, how easy is it for people to say, OK, you know what, I have done this career for, let's say, 20 years. What do I do next? You understand? What should they be looking out for in terms of trying to transition into a more digital native professional so that you can stay relevant? Because that's the future. How easy is that one number one? Number two, for people that are already in this space, I feel like it's just too much. Like today, I was online learning different things. Like you literally, so is it not too much? Where do we say, OK, no, no, no, I think I've learned enough. Is there ever going to be that time at this digital age? Is that going to happen? So maybe you start with the first question. OK, so I'll start with the first one. When people talk about how difficult it is to get into technology, I say the first thing you need to know is this, don't resist it. Once you build that resistance with a mentality or otherwise, you're going to have challenges. So the thing is this embrace technology, because with or without you, it's here to stay. With or without you participating in it, that's the future. So just embrace the change and flow with it. So yes, millennials then grew up with technology, but they adapted to technology. And people might say, oh, well, I'm past that age. Like I'm not too young to start learning stuff. But the whole nature of man is one of continuous learning. The day you stop learning is the day you die. Yes, so embrace technology. See it as another language you want to learn. That's how I put it. It's not something to fight. It's not something to get scared of or get overwhelmed. Take it in little bits. You don't have to know everything at once. You don't have to do everything at once. Start with taking very little bite-sized courses. Start with, and then find out for you to really embrace technology. I'll say find out how you learn best. Do you like videos? Or do you prefer reading materials? Do you prefer listening? And that's the beauty of technology. All these learning styles are available. You're not limited, unlike the traditional experience where you have to sit down and just go to listen to one person talk. So that's the beauty of technology. You can actually harness the power of technology to suit your own style. So the second question was, so for people that are already in the system, right, how do you keep up? And where do you draw the line, because, like, literally, my sister just graduated from Nexford. Interesting, right? Congratulations to her. In fact, Namitela Mishigudio, she has a lot to give me. And the interesting thing is, she said, what? So I was talking to her today. I said, Faith, I just saw one call. You see, you see, you want to do AI once in a while. So she said, ah, yes, I do like this. I'm ready to many things. My brain, like, literally she's, oh, and she is, she's not someone that is. She loves, she loves, she's been, you know, the people they call a critical. She loves to learn naturally. For now, what she's done, like in recent time, I think for three, four years now, she's been intentional about moving herself from what's it called, just being hardcore learner to now a digital professional in her field. She's in the finance space, right? So she takes courses, the libre, she's doing, she's done data analytics, so she's doing everything she feels like this would be the thing that would now eventually now put me in, so that she positions herself for the future. But I feel sometimes like it can be overwhelming. Like Julie, but you know you cannot take somebody to draw the line, but it's what you're saying, it's online learning. But tell me how to manage it though. So I think what you should do here is not. So sometimes when you look at a problem, you see, you want to look at everything at once. When you do that, you're going to get this courage. Narrow your vision, focus is important. What your sister did is fantastic. She honed in on her experience, and she said, look, I want to go further in this experience and become a digital native at it. So if you're trying to do everything at once, you're hearing people talk about UI, UX, you're hearing coding, you're hearing there's that digital marketing software development, you have to know yourself and then tell yourself, which of these areas, where do you want to fit in? Because you have to find your niche. You can't be everywhere right. So that's the first thing to do. So it doesn't overwhelm you. And then take it in bite-sized courses. Just try taking one course at a time. And yes, that's what we sell, but the way we go about it, we also try not to overwhelm you. Pace yourself and do not compare yourself. Technology has made it so easy. You are literally in competition with yourself and not with the next person. So don't try to do everything at once and don't listen to the marketplace. You know what, hold that thought. Let's just go in and out of your right back because let's go out and come back. So if you're just doing then, becoming a digital native professional in the era of digital transformation, that's the conversation we're having. And we have Sally with us. Yeah, we're already having fun. So you can join the conversation, send us an SMS or WhatsApp to do it, 1-803-4663. So please, if you should pardon me. Is it a marketplace you said before when on a break? Yeah. Because now, every time I see a lot of people going to global standards, so they are comparing based on, okay, project managers are being paid, XYZ, business developers are being paid. So people now are learning based on earnings. Is that a good thing? So it depends on what kind of person you are and that's why I say, do not listen to the noise in the marketplace. If you leave your house, let's say you want to buy groceries and you leave your house and go to the market and hear somebody shouting, selling clothes. Are you going to abandon the groceries you wanted to buy to go for clothes? That's the sign of an undecided mind. So you need to filter out the noise and find out where you want to go. So the first thing in going anywhere is to know where exactly you want to go and being focused on that journey. But if you just have, if you wake up and you say, oh, I want to go to Surileri. Where in Surileri? Oh, I don't know. It means that you're going to end up anywhere in Surileri. But if you say, oh, I want to go to Adenrongunso here. You have a destination in mind. You use your map to tell you how to get there and that's how you should figure out your digital parts. Think of where you want to be. Don't look at, I don't think you should. Yes, it's good to know what salaries are saying in the industry. But are you caught out to be a data analyst? Do you have a love for figures? You could be a creative. Not everybody has to be a coder. Not everybody has to be a software developer, even though the salaries are very attractive. But who says creatives are not making money with technology? They're making a lot of money as well. So just research, do your research, find out what works best and what aligns with your goals and then your method of learning and stick to that. You would always evolve, of course, because technology is evolving. But at least you have a map. It will evolve in and out. Exactly. Okay, Jennifer. So talking about, sorry, talking about learning, right? How can a person foster a culture of continuous learning, especially with the uncertainty of technology and how it's constantly changing? Okay, that's a very good question. Next word, we don't call them students. We call them learners. And that's because we believe learning is lifelong. It never stops. If you call yourself a student, at some point you're going to stop being a student. But if you're a learner, you're going to keep learning. So the thing is this, you have to prioritize your learning. What do you want to learn? How, when? Give yourself a goal. Oh, I want to become XYZ. How long does it take? How long is the average time it takes to reach that goal? Okay, maybe I have these other commitments. I'm going to set these targets for myself. If other people are doing it in three months, maybe I will take four or five months to do it. But at the end, I'm going to get where I'm going to. So that's how you should approach it, right? And that's why you have to choose a model that is flexible for you, a model that works for you, that is not necessarily a competitive model where everybody has to do everything at the same time. My question would be, you said a bit about NextFord. Who are your target audience? Okay. And the courses that you, if someone wants to just come out of uni and you're looking for how to upgrade yourself, because you're not sure where, what part you want to take, or you want to be digitally savvy, that's the word. Where do you start from? First of all, who are your target audience? Then as an individual who is just starting out, where do you start from? What kind of courses do you start with? How do you, some people are doing product management, project management, business analysts, data analysis. Where do you start from? Where's the best place advisable to start from so that you don't jump into something that you're not ready for on the other side, because there's the theory part and there's the practical? Like you were saying, if you don't like numbers, why do data analysis just for the money? Because eventually you get tired of it and then there will be no further learning from there. Okay. So to answer your first question, who are target audience? So our target audience are young to any age as long as you're willing to learn. Nigerians, I'm using this in the Nigerian context now, who they're bold, they want to take it different parts. They are ambitious as well. So these are people who are, let's say between the ages of 18 to any age that we don't set a cap on learning, that's up to you. So whoever is interested, that has the skills, now I'm talking about where do you start from? That's the beauty of Nextport. You finish from secondary school, you want to do a bachelor's degree with Nextport. We're not just going to throw you into the deep waters. Get this. So there's a course with our undergraduate classes called the science of happiness. Would you ever think you would find a course like that related to business and technology? The traditional experience, you would not do something like that. But we've got something like that at Nextport because we want to prepare your mind. We want to prepare you for the journey. And when undergraduates take this course, the feedback I've gotten from them is really interesting. You know, it opens their minds, it opens their hearts. So it prepares them for whatever else is coming along the way. Because you need to figure out your internal state. And you need to get mentally prepared for the journey. So that's one thing you start with. So you're not just going off the deep end or you're just graduating from high school and then we throw you into product management. Again, tech courses are tied to business courses. So you would start gradually, you'd pick up the pace as time goes on. You're going to start with things that are familiar to you. You're not just going to just get thrown into the deep end and then you're struggling. You have no idea on the first day what's happening. You know, that's not how it's done. OK. So do these, sorry, do these, the courses, do these, can they be like, are they a replacement or will I say a substitute for the courses that you study in Nigerian universities? Or is looked at from a higher learning, yes. Complementary or something that you can, you can actually like a first, that's the worst time. Absolutely standalone courses. Oh, OK. So let me explain our model to you. We were built on the course of, OK, traditional education hasn't changed in the past 100 years. But the workplace has changed so drastically. Now, education is lagging behind the workplace. And that's why we get employers saying, oh, they have so many graduates, but they cannot employ them. They are unemployed. They are unemployed. So that's a huge challenge. And that was the challenge we set out to tackle from the beginning. So our curriculum, the entire curriculum, was built from an industry perspective. We spoke to 5,600 top employers from around the world to find out what skills were in demand, what skills were in shortage, what skills did they wish that people that were fresh from school had? And then we built all this into our learning. So NextFord programs are, it's a full degree. And anyone who has undergone a course at NextFord. She's touching me. This question would not come up. Exactly. Wouldn't you need to come up? We soon enrol. Please do. It's very, very convenient. Yeah, so I'm glad you said you're talking about skills, because that brought me to my next question, right? All right. So what are the skills and competencies one needs to acquire or enhance in order to thrive in this era of space that we're in currently? What are the employers? Those factors are all. Now you're talking about, yeah. 600, yeah. And I didn't do skills. No, they're esports. OK, so it's a mixture of both soft skills and hard skills. And on the soft skills side, the common one we hear them say is effective communications. You'll be surprised how much that is a challenge for graduates. People think they communicate well until it turns out they don't. So communication skills is a priority. Problem solving skills and critical thinking. These are very essential skills for you to thrive in the workplace, because it means that you're ready to be able to adapt. And to also contribute to add value, to add value. Because a lot of people go into employment waiting to just receive salaries at the end of the month. Exactly. Without any value at all. But not many people think value adding. Yeah, how to get back. Exactly. If you have critical thinking skills, you'll be able to figure out how your role impacts the entire organization. And once you are cognizant of that fact, you do better. Exactly. But if you don't understand how your role contributes, there's a strategy. And you feel, oh, that's the end. That's the strategy end. It doesn't concern me. I'm just the receptionist. I don't know what's going on there. So that's really where. So problem solving and critical thinking skills are very important. Also, how do you problem solve? There's an issue. Do you only just escalate it without figuring it out? So these are critical soft skills. Now for the hard skills, we now come to things like being able to analyze data, being able to use data in your work, being able to present information in a way that is concise, that is clear. Exactly. Thank you. That's the word. Buzai, without bringing fatigue to whoever has to digest your information. Exactly. So yeah, it's a mixture of both soft and hard skills. Fantastic. So I know, I'm sure, Sally, you had something in mind that you wanted to say when you were coming, driving all the way to this studio when the topic, of course, was raised. And what was that one thing you wanted to leave in the minds of people? Why is it important for you to become a professional native? Was it called digital native? Why is it important? Because the world is, in fact, the things that I learned, interesting thing is I've done project management in 2012. Yeah, project management in 2012. What I'm reading now is completely well thought out. But if I go back to my university where I studied physics. Yes, I studied physics. And I go back and go and start from 100 level. I can bet you is what I learned in 2001 at the entire university is what I will still go and miss there. So the digital space is very different, very, very different. So what did you have in mind? See, you know what, if I don't say anything, this I must leave with the mind of anybody that's watching. So they understand how critical. Because you can't just wake up. You see the book who moved my cheese, right? The mouse was talking, talking, talking. Things was changing. Changed in around him. But it refused to change. Changed, yeah. Now woke up in the morning and saw. The cheese is good. It's been going, but you refuse to see. And that's what is happening in the digital world, right? A lot of transformation is happening. Do you understand? Things that you never considered to be relevant. That somebody can decide how to reconstruct this glass. Do you understand? And say, you know what, let's move this line here. It's a skill now that people are now taking and earning. So if you had that one thing to say to someone of the importance of just change, whatever it is that, and you can become a digital native in any field that you're in, what would be that thing you say to that person? OK. What I would say goes back to my first sentence. Embrace the change. Whether without you, it's going to happen. So to avoid being a dinosaur, you just have to embrace that change and harness the potential. So the thing is, people say it as, oh, technology for work. But if my current job doesn't require technology, why am I bothered? But we've done lots of studies on this because we are very focused on preparing our graduates for the future of work. Not about yesterday's job or today's job. What's going to be relevant in the next five to 10 years. And it's interesting how a lot of things have come up, the kind of things that will be faced out. So if you do not get yourself ready for that, you're going to, like the mouse, like you said, these things are already happening. They're in motion, whether you can see them or not. But if you don't get yourself into that space, then you're going to find yourself becoming redundant. So I would say look at technology from a place of empowering yourself about personal and professional development. You can use it, embrace it in your daily life. Start with the personal development before you even go into professional development. And then it becomes easier as you go with time. So the one thing I want to say is this, please, it's absolutely important that we become digitally fluent in order not to get left behind. Do I have comments? Well, she has said it all. She has said it all. You don't want to be left behind. It's scary. So my son recently graduated from secondary school. And before they graduated, I had told them, say, me, I use calculation. I said, I have good basic salary, basic life for the next designers. Me and a salary are your market players. But because I know that they have the capacity for coding and all those stuff because they are very, very driven in that sense of technology. And every day I'm so happy that I forced them to do it because now they are studying courses online and preparing for the university. And so you are going into the university is different. You're going to be different from your classmates that are just going fresh from, because now you have a skill, right? So now imagine if we, as even as adults, because there's literally no field right now. Even if it is hair salon. Yep. Do you know how much tricolour this is collected? Makin'. I run away. I went to meet a tricolor. I said, this is my front. I just want the hair to grow. I'm a bartender. They did the analysis. They did the whatever, brody machine. They did the scanning. $5,000. I say, you say what? Literally there is no single, I went that basic. Yeah. You understand? Even if it is your nails. There is a technology that has made nails, whatever, different. And not only that, you now earn bigger income because you adopted that technology. Do you understand? Yes. So my question, my final question will be to you. You know, how can, because I've seen your courses, they're a bit limited. Right? So I'll get to that point. What I see is a bit limited in my head. Because literally what I just said now, the every field requires technology. Absolutely. So how can we adopt more technological solutions like in bite-side courses that can cater? So for instance, I have the stylists. I say, come, come, come. There's this course that these people are offering. Go and take it. Are you looking into like that kind of massive expansion? Expansion, yeah. So absolutely. At the core of what we do is innovation at Nexford University. So we're always innovating and iterating with the marketplace. And which is why we recently launched our master's in digital transformation. So we keep evolving. We keep trying to find out what skills will be needed and we keep building our course. And that's a huge advantage for us. So I would not say we're limited. Because a traditional university, for example, would need to invest millions of Naira or thousands of dollars to change in their library. And that's why you find out if you go back to your university. It's still the same library, but it's expensive. Exactly, to change. But with our online courses. You can update it. We can update it as fast as you can think of. So that means that as you're learning, you are confident that you are getting the latest. So digital transformation is a key aspect for us. And we know that, yes, that's all in comparison. So it's broad. It's very broad. It's not something that is limited. I mean, just today, I was reading about this Nigerian company, some ladies that decided to talk about hair. They want to make a lab-made human hair. And I thought to myself, oh, that's awesome. Because that's a huge area for us. I mean, they will not be cutting people's hair in multiple in India anymore. Exactly. So yes, technology is all in comparison. So digital transformation covers that entire, all those sectors I'm talking about. So if you think digital transformation, because again, this ties back to what India had asked about, guidance, where to, we know. All right. OK, so I think, do you have comments? OK, I thought I heard something. But we've run out of time. No problem. Thank you so much, Sally. We had fun with you. Thank you, and I did too. Thank you very much. All right, so before we go, go and learn a course today. Let me say that one first. I'm sure you follow us across all our social media platforms. Listen to our podcast on Spotify. You can also share the links as well. Share with families and friends. And like, share, and engage us on social media. Now, if you missed our quote for today, here it is again. It says, digital natives are the first generation to grow up with the internet and digital technology. They are used to being connected all the time and to having access to information at their fingertips. This has shaped their way of thinking and learning. Don't worry. We, millennials, we are coming up. We will survive. We'll see you guys tomorrow at 8 p.m. Because we bring another great conversation to you. Ciao. All right.