Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka accompanied by the Senator representing Ekiti Central in the Senate, Mr. Babafemi Ojudu, the State Coordinator of the National Director Of Employment, Dr (Mrs) Abimbola Oni, and the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Social Development and Gender Empowerment, Mrs Fola Richie-Adewusi, on inspection of tools and equipment meant for distribution Disbursement of Tools and Equipment to trained beneficiaries of National Open Apprenticeship Scheme Ado-Ekiti at the weekend.
Decrying in strong terms situations where youths depend solely on white collar jobs, the deputy government of Ekiti State, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka has said the government will not relent in its commitment to empowering youths with skills and entrepreneurial trainings that will make them self-reliant.
She spoke in Ado-Ekiti at the opening ceremony for the Special Skills Training Programme of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and
Disbursement of Tools and Equipment to trained beneficiaries of National Open Apprenticeship Scheme in Ado-Ekiti, where she noted that the NDE Scheme and programmes are in tandem with the 8 Point Agenda of the Dr. Kayode Fayemi led administration.
According to her, the focus of the present administration in Ekiti is human capital development as a way of reducing unemployment among youths as well boosting their economic capabilities of individuals.
She advised the youths to make good use of opportunities provided by the NDE and government to acquire skills and trainings that will make them useful for themselves and the general society instead of lazing around or looking for white collar jobs that are not in adequate supply.
While commending the NDE and their various training partners for the various programmes which have empowered so many youths, she assured
the NDE that the state government will continue to provide necessary collaboration and support to sustain the agency in the state.
The Deputy Governor who charged the new recruits for the training to take the opportunity to learn as much as they could to enable them meet the challenges of the new millennium also urged those receiving equipment to utilize them properly and settle down to work so they could start paying back as at when due to enable others waiting on line to benefit, since it is a revolving loan.
Earlier in her welcome address, the State Director of NDE, Mrs. Abimbola Oni disclosed that the special training tagged “Special Vocational Training for Persons with Special Needs” was indeed special because the ceremony was to flag off training of fifty (50) vulnerable men and women in Ekiti State among which are people living with one disability and the other, deaf and dumb, crippled and mentally retarded.
While thanking the state government for encouraging the NDE to forge ahead to achieve its aims and objectives towards employment generation in the state and for releasing the sum of 23 million naira to resettle 229 youths trained in 12 different Agricultural Skill in collaboration with Ekiti State Enterprise and Development Agency, she disclosed that the beneficiaries will be given soft loans at the end of the training to start various businesses.
Last modified: December 1, 2012
