Lafia-The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced a three-month free intensive training for 25 unemployed youths on landscaping and Plaster of Paris (POP) in Nasarawa State.
Alhaji Dauda Idris-Wase, the state coordinator made this known on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia.
Idris-Wase said the beneficiaries would also be trained on other environmental beautification skills to enable them become self reliant and employers of labour.
He said that Environmental Beautification Training Scheme (EBTS) was a Federal Government effort to create employment opportunities for unskilled and unemployed Nigerians.
“NDE is saddled with responsibilities of training people especially youths and women in different skills acquisition programmes in the country in order to be self reliant and contribute their quota to national development.’’
He explained that the training would focus on specialised areas such as hard landscaping, Plaster of Paris (POP) and floor tiling works.
He said the programme was carefully designed to align with the current demands of the prevailing economic activities of the country.
“The Environmental Beautification Training Scheme (EBTS) was conceptualised by the Special Public Works Department (SPWD)
“It is just one out of a variety of programmes being carried out by the programme department in line with the NDE mandate,’’ said the coordinator.
Idris-Wase called on unemployed Nigerians to take advantage of the agency’s various skills acquisition programmes to exit joblessness as well as to contribute their quota to national development.
He appealed to state and local governments, NGOs and affluent members of the society to partner with the NDE, especially in the resettlement of the beneficiaries.
Mr Rotgak Goar, State Head of Department of Special Public Works of the agency, also told NAN that the programmes were aimed at fighting high rate of unemployment and poverty.
Goar decried youth involvement in the upsurge of anti-social activities like crimes, insecurity, armed robbery, drug abuse and trafficking, occasioned by unemployment and poverty.
He also called on spirited individuals, politicians and organisations to assist at the end of the training to resettle the trainees.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr Khalid Tameem, expressed appreciation to the management of NDE for the training.
While pledging to put into practice the skills they would acquire, Tameem called for support from the state and local governments as well as NGOs to enable them settle down for business.