The Nation Newspaper

Tag: skills acquisition

  • Ambode’s wife tasks women on skills acquisition

    Ambode’s wife tasks women on skills acquisition

    WIfe of the governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, has again charged women in the state to utilise the opportunity provided by various skill acquisition centres, built by the state government, to get skills for their economic empowerment.

    She made the remarks at the inauguration of Funmilayo Mobolaji Johnson Skill Acquisition Centre, in Ajah, a suburb of Lagos, donated by two firms, Huawei  Technologies Limited and Fortis Project Services.

    Ambode said it was not fashionable for women to be idle and expect the husband to bankroll the family expenses, stressing that having something to contribute to home upkeep, goes a long way in uplifting the family.

    Her words: “It is not advisable that ladies and women should live entirely on the income of their husbands. It is always helpful that the woman has something to contribute to the upkeep of the home. It also puts her in a respectable position in the family.”

    She disclosed that the state government had built about seventeen skill acquisition centres around the state that train women, ladies, widows and school drop-outs, in skills like leather works, hat-making, carpentry, shoe-making, soap-making, dress-designing and computer studies, among others.

     

  • FG to begin skills acquisition training in 18 states

    FG to begin skills acquisition training in 18 states

    The federal government said yesterday that 18 states of the federation has been shortlisted to benefit from the first phase of the skills acquisition training aimed at driving the job creation effort of the government.
    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who disclosed this while on a working visit to the Ministry’s facilities in Lagos State, said three states from each of the six geopolitical zones will be selected for the commencement of the training while Lagos and Abuja will serve as strategic pivot for the first phase.
    The minister said government was worried about the high rate of unemployment in the country and was already making concrete efforts to tackle the menace head on from different directions.
    He said: “Our decision to make blue collar jobs prominent in our multi-pronged job creation activities is informed by the limiting opportunities of white collar job against the elastic potentials offered by blue collar skills.
    “The Federal Government will in the next two months flag off skills acquisition training in eighteen states (three in each geo-political zone) with Lagos and the Abuja Federal Capital as strategic pivots for the first phase. We are therefore here to inspect facilities for effective take off.”
    At the Federal Ministry of Labour Skill Training Centre, Lagos, the minister inspected the auto-mechanic and electrical sections, carpentry and joinery, building construction unit and the welding and metal fabrication unit.
    He also inspected the National Directorate of Employment facilities, Government Technical College, Ikeja as well as Samsung Engineering Academy where trainees are taken through the repair of electronics such as fridges, air-conditioning sets, GSM telephones, among others.
    Addressing the staff, Ngige appealed to them to be part of government efforts at job creation by rededicating themselves to their responsibilities and urged them to be ready for deployment even to the rural areas where the N-Power programme were already being implemented in agriculture and mining to contribute to the successful diversification of the economy.

  • Saraki to train 40,000 youths on skills acquisition

    Saraki to train 40,000 youths on skills acquisition

    Senate President Bukola Saraki will train 40,000 youths on skills acquisition and thereby create 40, 000 direct jobs in the next four years for youths in Kwara State, it was learnt yesterday.

    The scheme is under the Skill Acquisition, Training and Empowerment Programme (STEP) of the Saraki Employment and Empowerment Centre (SEEC).

    Already, SEEC has received 10,000 applications of which 250 persons have been selected for the pilot scheme scheduled to begin in November

    12.

    Managing Consultant of STEP Nasir Abdulqadir, told reporters yesterday that the programme is aimed at training and empowering youths with advanced skills in computer engineering, software development, animation, mechatronics engineering, cinematography, event management, interior decorations, catering services, etc.

    “The goal of the Senate president is to directly train over 40,000 youths from within and outside Kwara State in skills that can make them compete with their counterparts all over the world.

    “With 40,000 youths trained in the next four years under the STEP programme, we believe the multiplier effects will have direct impact on job creation and economic growth of Kwara state in particular and Nigeria in general,” he said.

    Abdulkadir reiterated that the programme had no political colouration, adding that beneficiaries would be funded with seed money to start their business after the training.

    He said efforts would be made to create markets for the beneficiaries to ease their success rate, adding that both local and state governments have keyed in to patronise them.

  • Monarch urges Ekiti youths to embrace skills acquisition

    Monarch urges Ekiti youths to embrace skills acquisition

    A traditional ruler in Ekiti State, Oba Peter Afolabi Falade, has advised youths to embrace skills acquisition to overcome the scourge of unemployment and poverty.

    The monarch, who is the Obaloja of Oloje Ekiti in Oye Local Government, gave the advice while speaking at the Environmental Beautification Training Scheme (EBTS) organised by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).

    Oba Falade, who explained that government cannot provide employment for all teeming youths, also urged them to key into Information and Communications Technology (ICT), which, he said, is capable of generating jobs

    The royal father urged the participants in the scheme to utilise the opportunity of the training, which he said would make them own their businesses and change their lives for good.

    The Acting Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Olakunle Obayan, said the agency cannot tackle the scourge of unemployment ravaging the country alone.

    Speaking through Ekiti State NDE Coordinator, Babatope Akinyemi, he appealed to state governments, local governments, affluent members of the society, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations and others to partner with NDE in this task of providing economic empowerment for the youths.

     

  • Lawmaker advises youths on skills acquisition

    A member of Lagos State House of Assembly,  Moshood Oshun, has advised Nigerian youths, especially graduates, to opt for acquisition so as to become self-employed.

    Oshun, who represents Lagos Mainland 2 State Constituency, spoke at the inauguration of the     skill acquisition programme he organised for his constituents in Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

    The beneficiaries numbering about 250 are to be trained in making of adire, soap making, chemicals, paint making, beads, make-ups and fruit juice processing, among others.

    The lawmaker said the training was one of its kinds, adding that he organised it to tell Nigerians that white collar jobs are not enough to go round every job seeker.  There are other things that people can do apart from white collar jobs to boost Nigeria’s econoýmy.

    Oshun, who is Chairman House Committee on Public Account, stressed that the idea in Nigeria is that everybody must be in the office which, he said, is not possible.

    “There are other things that people can do to boost the economy of ýthe country. This is why I extend the training to both young and old.

    “We are ready to help people who will take the training serious. At the end of the day, it would encourage us to do more.

    “In Lagos Mainland, there is no week people won’t organise up to seven parties and you see people with different designs of headgears. Unfortunately, they are not the ones who fixed the headgears themselves. So, you can also set up your own business to make money,” he said.

    He said though the training could be rigorous, it is easier than stealing.

    “Beneficiaries who would want to establish their businesses from what they have learnt from the training, would be encouraged financially,” he said.

    The lawmaker, therefore, warned the 250 beneficiaries against not deploying what they learnt from the training to good use.

    Contributing, the Executive Secretary of Yaba Local Council Development Area, Bola Lawal-Olumegbon said the training was important since it would help the beneficiaries to meet their basic needs.

    “No amount of money given by the lawmaker can make up for the training. There is no job anywhere. Therefore, people live on what they know how to do best. We must, therefore, learn the skills with all seriousness. There is nothing you learn that would not benefit you,” she said.

     

  • Monarch praises govt on skills acquisition development

    The Paramount Ruler of Ikot Abasi Local Government Area,Akwa Ibom State, HRM Edidem Udo Joe Ntukubom XII, has praised Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel for providing  skill acquisition centres across the state.

    Ntukubom said this when he  received the  Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Skill Development Projects Centre, Dr. Majorie Abasiodiong in his palace.

    He noted that Governor Emmanuel’s administration accords priority to the welfare and well-being of Akwa Ibom citizenry, which has informed prompt actions towards rehabilitating defunct skills acquisition centres in the state.

    The former Council of Chiefs’ Chairman, Ntukubom, said  revamping  the  centres, would provide opportunities for youths to acquire various skills.

    The Senior Special aide noted that Emmanuel is poised to spread skills acquisition centres across the  state.

    She said her visit to the area was to have a first-hand knowledge of the state of the  centres, calling on all Ikot Abasi people in particular and Akwa Ibom indigenes at large to support the Governor Emmanuel administration.

  • ITF challenges trainees on entrepreneurship, skills acquisition

    THE Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has urged its trainees to brace to the high  standards expected of them.

    It said it is committed to its objectives of producing skilled manpower that will drive the  economy.

    Its Director-General, Dr Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, said its students  should imbibe the knowledge provided by the fund, and take charge of leading the nation and the continent into an era of sustainable economic development.

    She said the vision of economic leadership on the continent by the country could only be achieved when adequate attention and commitment is shown by stakeholders to imbibe youths with continuous vocational and technical training knowledge that can create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for them and other citizens.

    The ITF chief noted that while  students have excelled in various technical and vocational sectors, it was important for the beneficiaries of the training to make the most use of it and become entrepreneurs.

    Warning the students against external and internal influences and activities that are capable of derailing their goals, she urged the beneficiaries to consider themselves lucky, considering that ITF’s graduates are “hot cakes” as far as employment, job creation and entrepreneurship in the industrial sector was concerned.

    According to her, the leadership of the ITF has remained focused in meeting the critical manpower needs of the country, despite the challenges and high cost of providing vocational and technical training.

    She assured the students of providing effective training for  them. She said excellence and high standards would continue to define the activities of the fund.

    Mrs Chukkas-Onaeko pointed out that some of the challenges the fund were inherited, urging some of its students who raised concerns over the elongated stay in the skills acquisition centre to remain calm.

    She urged the students  to focus on acquiring skills,assuring them that the challenge of securing more equipment for the centre was already being addressed by the agency.

  • Paucity of funds stalls skills acquisition, says ITF

    Paucity of funds stalls skills acquisition, says ITF

    The Director-General,  Industrial Training Fund (ITF),  Dr. Juliet Chukkas Oneako has said inadequate funding is hindering the agency from  implementing some of its critical projects.

    She lamented that the agency continually depended to a large extent on  internally generated funds for survival.

    Speaking during a facility tour of the Abuja corporate Headquarters of the agency, she said skills acquisition is the only way the nation can come out of its present over bloated labour market.

    She said: “Equipping this facilities is very important; that is why the agency is crying out for funding;  the Abuja centre particularly required more equipment as existing laboratories and workshops in it are in dire need of latest machinery.

    “ITF has the capacity to provide the needed human resources for the industrialisation of the country. The people we train here have been tested and confirmed to possess the right skills and knowledge to manage any industrial challenge.

    “In fact, we train specialists and we are urging all stakeholders to support what we do in the various centres. All the model s were carefully selected to match the current global industry demand, including machine fabrications, installations and trouble-shooting of all sorts.

    “ITF has concluded plans to deploy its mobile skills training facilities to the Nigerian rural population, to enable the targeted youths acquire specialised skills and vocational training.”