IDEAS Project Will Creat 80,000 Young Entrepreneurs

Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

The National Coordinator of IDEAS Project, Mrs. Blessing Ogwu, has disclosed that the federal government is training and equipping 80,000 young Nigerians with technical skills to make them job creators and not job seekers

She made the disclosure at the official flag off of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), IDEAS-TVET Cohort 03 sponsored by the federal government and financed by the world bank on Friday in Abuja. With over 200 beneficiaries in attendance.

Mrs. Ogwu who was represented by the Chief Manager of TVET, Prof. Ndem Ayara stated that government is training 80,000 Nigerian youth who will be paid N30,00 monthly stipends as long as they meet the 65% attendance requirement.

“Through Ideas Projects, the federal government of Nigeria is training over 80,000 young people in various skills as enumerated during my presentation. And the trainees are done in cohorts. We’ve already done cohort one across the country, cohort two, this is cohort three.

” It’s done in all the states of the federation through the use of Training Service Providers (TSPs). TSPs , provides workshops, the equipment, and instructors to train these young people.”

Speaking on the qualifications to be a beneficiary he said, “the qualification is for you to be a Nigerian, provide your NIN, provide your BVN, so that, your bank account is known, and a stipend of 30,000 Naira per month is sent straight through remitter to your account after the confirmation that you’ve attended 65% of the training time or days.”

According to him, “the trainees will be supported with training kits. With tools that are relevant to the skill that they are learning, so that they can use those skills and tools to practice the skill that they are training.

When asked why the government decided to equip the youth with skills, he said it was to bridge the skill gap, curb unemployment and create jobs. “We’ve identified lack of skill as a major factor to unemployment. Once people have skill, they can either be employed by others or they can become self-employed by putting their skill into practice and can even employ other people to work with them.”

In his speech the MD/CEO of New Horizons, Tim Akano said “the training is collaboration between the federal government through the World Bank through the federal ministry of education while New Horizons is Training Service Provider.

“We are providing the space, equipments, instructors, training modules and certifications in ten different skills in hardware maintainance.”

The Special Guest of honour, the CEO/Registrar African Institute of Public Health, Dr. Bankole Ayodele applauded the government for initiating the programme and advised for the nation’s education to be more practical than theoretical. “This is an innovation that should be encouraged in Nigeria because most of the things you learn in the University are not useful to you. But what you have learnt here you can effectively do hardware maintainance.

“Unfortunately Nigeria is a country of certificates but the organisation through the world Bank is equipping you with skills that you can become an employer of labour and reduce the social vices in the society. The Chinese are better because of this kind of programmes and that is why they are giants today.”

“My appeal to the federal Ministry of education is that our education should be more practical than theoretical.

One of the female beneficiaries, Destiny Sunday, said, “I have learnt how to repair phones and am now learning how to repair computers. I thanks the federal government and the World Bank for this opportunity. And with the N30,000 monthly stipends I can pay my transport to this training. As a teacher I’ll teach others the skills that I have learnt here so that they to can be productive and teach others too.”