Ogun Govt to empower trained, certified artisans — Prof Odemuyiwa
By Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta
The Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Technical, Vocational Education and Training, Prof Joseph Odemuyiwa, has disclosed that the state government will support trained and certified artisans and technicians to practise their trades by leveraging on the Ministry of Trade and Investment’s ‘Business Clinics initiative’ to enable them procure equipment needed to enhance their trade.
Prof Odemuyiwa according a statement from his Media aide, Taofik Ahmed was said to have made this revelation while speaking recently with journalists in his office in Abeokuta.
The Governor’s aide said many trained and certified technicians and artisans are engaged in other trades due to lack of capital and basic tools, affirming that the government intends to fight unemployment by linking them with financial institutions for various empowerment opportunities in collaboration with other government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government.
He added that apart from finance, there was need for continuous training of artisans and technicians, as well as linking them with modern tools, in order to make them relevant and meet increasing industrial demand, adding that his office in collaboration with development partners, would continue to train technicians and expose them to modern techniques of their different trades.
“The Prince Dapo Abiodun led administration has been focused as regards technical and vocational education and training. We have made great strides in empowering the people, most especially youths with skills, and have engaged them in various training in collaboration with our international partners and are well certified. However, we observed that many trained technicians are becoming ‘Okada’ riders because they do not have the necessary equipment to work with.
“Some trained in technical colleges, while some trained informally and non-formally, at the end of the day, they find themselves as motorcycle riders, taxi drivers, among others. We are trying to embark on an empowerment programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, so that when you are trained and certified, you can be linked up with financial institutions to assist you with the necessary equipment to help you establish yourself,” he said.
The Special Adviser stated that the Board would be working and using the Business Clinic Programme of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment with the view to enlightening and educating the people on how they can access financial assistance in form of loans, through the business clinic, as well as the technical hub in our Technical Colleges across the State, so that the trained and certified technicians and artisans who could not afford equipment could go and make use of the equipment in the hub to make money.
Odemuyiwa said the government’s resolve at human capital development with the German Agency for International Development (GIZ) in recent times, accounted for the series of training for Instructors, School Managers, and youths within the State, Abuja and Lagos, pointing out that his office had organised over 10 different training programmes and they came up with the training on solar power installation, being the most recent which has made many self-employed.
