Youth Empowerment: FG, Ogun collaborate to train 2,000 in 16 trades
No fewer than 2,000 youths in Ogun State will benefit from the skills acquisition training put together by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Education Intervention and the Ogun State Government.
The training programme under the Project T-Max (TVET) Maximization domiciled in the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Education Intervention, will see youths in the state trained in different vocations and trades for three months
Speaking while receiving the delegation Project T-Max led by the Senior Special Assistant in charge, Mr. Fela Bank-Olemoh, on Wednesday, in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, Governor Dapo Abiodun, said the programme which would see youths trained and empowered in 16 trades, is in tandem with his administration’s agenda which emphasized on skills acquisition.
Represented by his deputy, (Mrs.) Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Abiodun disclosed that his administration’s efforts at ensuring that youth in the state are adequately equipped with appropriate skills led to the creation of the Ogun State Youth Empowerment Scheme.
He added that the extra steps from the federal government would provide the opportunities for more youths to acquire the needed skills.
The governor further noted that Ogun regarded as the industrial hub of the country, emphasis has been placed on technical education for specific training that would meet the needs of the industries operating in the state
“Without a doubt, this intervention programme from the Federal Government is a welcome development as it will complement the efforts we have put in place. This is an extra step for us, we are happy and pleased as we have been chosen as one of the pilot states to carry out this project. And you can be sure that you will get all the support from this government to ensure that the three months scheme is a success.
“I use this opportunity to call on our youths in the state who are desirous of learning any of these 16 trades and be part of this scheme, to register so that they can have the opportunity to be one of the 2,000 lucky beneficiaries who will train under the scheme”, he stated.
Abiodun, however, disclosed that 27 places have been screened as potential training centres in addition to all government technical colleges, insisting that youths in the state should take advantage of the programme to acquire skills of their choice.
He appealed to the organisers of the training to extend the starter’s pack to every participant, saying “there is no point training them without a starter’s packs”.
He added: “The Industrial Training Fund (ITF), has set a benchmark in the state because since we came into office, they have trained nothing less than 1,500 indigenes of this state through their own programmes, and each beneficiary got a starter’s pack. Not everybody can be the best in the training, but they all need to get something to start. So please, review your programme so that each person leaves the training with the requisite tools for them to start”.
Earlier in his remarks, Bank-Olemoh, said about 15,000 people from Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Enugu, Nassarawa, Gombe and Kaduna states, would be trained in various skills ranging from ICT, fashion designing, building and construction, engineering services, among others, in the next three months.
He said the Project T-MAX is a Technical & Vocational Committee on National Poverty Reduction, whose goal is to lift 100 million people out of poverty.
He assured that the team would work with Ogun State to see that the training and skills that would be given to the youths are relevant to the state based on industries and skill guides.
