Surulere (Oyo State) – The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) on Wednesday in the Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State, inaugurated its 74th model and functional skills acquisition centre for unemployment reduction and wealth creation in the country.
Dr Clement Illoh, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, said that the new centre was an initiative of the Federal Government, to tackle the challenge of mass unemployment, nationwide.
“By the end of this inauguration today, the NDE will be boasting of a total of 74 functional skills acquisition centres nationwide.
“Apart from this centre, a total of 9, 027 persons are currently undergoing vocational skills training in all the centres and other training outlets in the informal sector.
“So far, 29, 684 artisans/technicians have been trained under this initiative by the NDE and they are gainfully employed, contributing meaningfully to the nation’s growth,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the skills offered at the newly-opened centre include ICT, Welding and Fabrication, GSM Repairs, Electrical Installations, Hairdressing, Fashion Design, Catering and Event Management.
The centre, situated on a large expanse of land, has a workshop centre, an administrative block, lecture rooms, a dining hall with female and male hostels.
Similarly, Malam Abubakar Mohammed, the Director-General, NDE said that the inauguration would also signal the commencement of training in two other skills centres in the state.
He said that the two centres are located at Apanpa in Ibadan North Local Government and Kisi in Irepodun Local Government Area of the state.
“Nigerian youth have better opportunities for self-reliance through the provision of modern training for skills acquisition that made it possible for the NDE to be proud owners of skills centres in the country,” he said.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
Mohammed said that the NDE management was determined to sustain and improve on this initiative because their mandate strategically adopted training as a veritable tool for empowering the youths.
Mr Olusegun Adeleke, the Manager of the centre, said it would assist tremendously in poverty alleviation and unemployment reduction.
Adeleke said that there were 150 trainees being trained by eight trainers in different vocations at the centre and urged government to assist in empowering the trainees at the end of their programme.
Also, Mr Suleiman Abdul-Rasak, a trainee, told NAN that the training was going on smoothly and that it was knowledged-based. (NAN)
