In furtherance of its commitment towards bridging the gap between school and the job market, Aiki.ng, a job and employability portal powered by The Future Project and Microsoft, recently held an offline empowerment programmes in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The Aiki.ng Employability & Entrepreneurship Conference which was presented by Nigeria Dialogue, an organisation that aims at fostering a new generation of Nigerians who are committed to solving problems wherever they find themselves.
Thousands of recent graduates, undergraduates and other youth across Rivers State participated in the conference which featured hands-on sessions on skill acquisition, entrepreneurship, navigating the employment market and other practical needs.
Bukonla Adebakin, project associate for The Future Project said. “We empower young people in the areas of career planning, skill acquisition, entrepreneurship development, job sourcing and small business sustainability and this project takes that mission directly to youth across the country.”
Speakers at the conference included Executive Director of Sahara Group, Tonye Cole; Chief Operating Officer of Red Media Africa, Adebola Williams; Founder of Nigeria Dialogue, Eniola Bankole, and Port-Harcourt-based speakers that included the Head of Business Development at Suffix Nigeria, Toyin Yussuf and the chief executive officer of Esejets, Reke Okpanobo, as well as Comedian Dan’ D Humuorous who took a session on ‘Entertainment as a Business’.[eap_ad_2] “Nigeria Dialogue is focused on driving the conversations and collaborations required to further the Nigerian project on a macro, intellectual level. However, we also understand the imperative of meeting the practical needs of Nigeria’s teaming youth population, and right now that’s jobs and enterprise. It was very productive to take the combined efforts of Nigerians in the Diaspora to empower young people in the country,” Bankole, the Nigeria Dialogue founder said.
The event also featured artisan workshop where participants were divided into sessions for training in different skills which include; pastry making, insecticide/soap manufacturing, makeup artistry and Ankara shoes and bags. Four secondary schools were present at the conference and received free Mathematics and English text books from Nigeria Dialogue to help in their academics.[eap_ad_3]