Category: UPLIFTing Skill Acquisition

Skills acquisition is a weapon that for reducing poverty in the country and tasked the youths and women to be more productive by acquiring vocational skills to earn a living rather than scouting for white collar jobs. She said this during the graduation ceremony of participants of the Vocational Skill Acquisition Training and Empowerment of women and unemployed youths held at Sagamu Town Hall, Sagamu Local Government, Sagamu on the 19th of April, 2013. “I believe in hard-work and teaching people how to fish rather than giving them fish. When an individual acquires a skill and put it to use, such a person will be able to make ends meet, thereby becoming gainfully employed and will be able to put food on her table,” she said. She called on other local government chairmen to emulate the initiative of Sagamu local government and boost small and medium scale entrepreneurship by engaging the youths and women in vocational skill training that would ensure their future and improve the socio-economic power of people at the grass root level. According to her, learning a skill would enable an individual to be self – employed and even become an employer of labor saying that it was necessary for every individual to acquire a skill irrespective of their educational background as way of improving the economy of the community, state and the nation. Mrs. Amosun presented certificates and empowerment tools to beneficiaries who were trained in bead and hat making, tie and dye, small chops among others and advised them to effectively utilise the experience they had gained to be able to make ends meet and feed their family members. In her address, the Chairman, Sagamu Local Government, Mrs. Olufumilayo Efuwape noted that employment generation through vocational skill acquisition training was one of the cardinal programmes of her administration and would do everything within the resources of the local governments to better the lots of women and youths in Sagamu. She added that the two-weeks training and empowerment programme was conceived to enhance self-reliance and creating wealth for the people at the grass root expressing their preparedness to implement people oriented programmes and projects to develop the local government. Mrs. Efuwape assured that the second phase of the training and empowerment scheme would come up soon, urging indigenes of Sagamu to pay their taxes regularly in order to support her administration and the State Government in its mission to rebuild the state. Also speaking, the Chairperson, Sagamu Local Government, Mrs. Kemi Johnson noted that the policy goal of the vocational; training was aimed at bringing about the advancement, development and empowerment of women and youths in order to encourage them to be active in their day to day activities. This programme is an upshots of empowerment scheme conceived by the wife of the governor, who continuously challenges all chairperson’s in the twenty local government to prioritize job creation through skill acquisition training as a way of poverty alleviation among our women and the youths” she submitted.

Members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have been urged to think beyond their educational qualifications and acquire technical and vocational skills that would make them self- employed and contribute positively to national development.Mrs. Amosun, said this while flagging off the 2012 Batch ‘C’ Sensitization Workshop on Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development held at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Sagamu on the 16th of November, 2012. Mrs. Amosun stressed the need for every individual to develop their God-given talents for self-actualization and fulfillment, saying that the eras of white collar jobs were gone and it was pertinent for youths to acquire vocational skills in order to be creative and productive in the society. As an advocate of vocation skills acquisition, I believe we can reduce the rate of post-NYSC unemployment in our society and make our young graduates entrepreneurs and employers of labor. Whatever your course of study, a hands-on practical knowledge will be an added advantage for you to excel in your chosen field.” The Wife of the Governor commended the authorities of NYSC for taking up the challenge of exposing the youths to skills training and entrepreneurship as a way of encouraging wealth creation in the state and the country at large, imploring corps members to register and participate in any laudable skills acquisition programmes packaged for them at the orientation camp. In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr. Gbenga Otenuga noted that the goal of the skills acquisition programme was to contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) – which was aimed at eradicating poverty and hunger and the transformation agenda of the present administration in the State. He added that since the establishment of National Youth Service Corps, the scheme had put in place concrete and practical steps towards building capacity for teeming youths for self-employment rather than seeking the non-existing white collar jobs. Also speaking, the State Coordinator NYSC, Barr. Isioma Anosike said the National Youth Service Corps recently introduced the skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development into the scheme to enable fresh graduates of tertiary institutions acquire skills of their choice with the view to making them self reliant. She appreciated the support of the State Government and the Wife of the Former Governor for uplifting the lives of the less privileged in the society especially through her uplift projects, appealing that a vocational training center should be located in Abeokuta where corps members could train. The Iyalode of Yorubaland, Chief (Mrs.) Alaba Lawson noted that the initiative of the Federal Government to train corps members on vocational skills acquisition was a stepping stone to developing entrepreneurship in the country, advising youths to set goals for themselves and pursue their vision until they achieve their aims in life.