The Lagos State Government has empowered 13,500 residents through its Short Term Skill Acquisition Programme.
The four-week programme is an empowerment scheme with the goal of alleviating the challenges faced by indigent residents through skill acquisition and sundry vocational trainings.
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Bolaji Dada, said this during the ongoing Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the first year anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office at Alausa, Ikeja.
She said beneficiaries are residents – vulnerable women particularly those in rural communities, parents of out of school children, artisans, retirees, faith based groups, etc. – who were all trained in various vocations of their interest to enable them take care of their families and contribute meaningfully in the society thereby reducing unemployment .
Mrs Dada said: “In order to promote women focused programmes through our various initiatives as well as delivering on our mandates on intervention programmes, citizens are trained and supported with startup packs in different skills of their choice.
“There are 19 Skills Acquisition Centres across three Senatorial Districts of the state with 20 vocation taught-courses ranging from hair and wig making, barbing, soap, pomade, insecticide production, tie & dye, cake, snacks and beverages production etc., and our courses are handled by professional instructors.
“The locations of the centres are in IBILE – Isheri Olowora, Badagry Division, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe-Division – and you can walk in and make inquiries.”
According to her, the Poverty Alleviation Department of the Ministry has well over 2,000 beneficiaries empowered through the Micro Enterprises Support Initiative programme.
She said the MWAPA has aligned programmes with the T.H.E.M.E.S.+ Agenda of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration to promote social inclusion by ensuring that no one is left out in the economic cold.
“Within departments/units of the ministry, we have effectively delivered on various poverty alleviation programmes, women focused programmes, gender based Violence advocacy Programme, Skills Acquisitions Programmes, Non-Governmental Organisation sensitisation and many others.
“Let me reemphasise here that all our programmes/vocations are obtained for FREE,” Dada said.
In all, the commissioner also said the ministry was able to record 4,592 students graduands in the period under review while over 16,900 students also graduated specifically from 20 Skills Acquisition Centres in Lagos.
Furthermore, the ministry, she said, has continued to provide enabling environment for all students as the centres are well equipped with modern equipment to ensure the students thrive in their vocations.
Mrs Dada said the ministry had trained 450 women on cassava planting, cultivation process, branding and processing while another 450 received training in snailery, as well as cucumber and watermelon production.
In another capacity building training, “300 women were trained in Catfish Rearing and marketing during a collaboration with GIZ/Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research.
“We will continue to encourage partnership/synergy, we’re leveraging on various Civil Societies bodies, United Nations, MDAs such as Ministry of Health for medical screenings/ productive training and awareness programme of our women because we believe that good health is good wealth,” she said.
