Ugo Aliogo
Promoters of the Vocational and Educational Training Institute of Oshodi -Isolo Local Government have advised the newly elected Governor of Lagos State, Mr.Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to promote vocational training in the state.
This, the institute said would help in tackling unemployment and youth restiveness.
The Programme Coordinator in the local government, Mr. Babatunde Ogundiran, said this in his welcome address at the 13th graduation ceremony of the institute in Lagos recently.
Ogundiran, urged the graduands to put into proper utilisation the knowledge and skills acquired in the course of the programme, saying if well-harnessed, the vocational training would put them in the vintage position to compete favourable in various industries.
He further stated that formal education or certificate from tertiary institutions was not enough to compete favourably in the 21st-century labour market without the exceptional survival skills.
He said the vision and mission of the institute was to reconcile the lacuna by producing viable and economic functional members in the society.
The Chairperson of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government, Mrs. Sarah Bolaji –Ariyoh, in her speech asserted that vocational training and skills acquisition remained a panacea for unemployment in Nigeria.
She said in finding a lasting solution to the challenge of the unemployment, government, private individual and corporate organisations must look for a way of revitalising vocational education and skills acquisition through which the creative mind could be empowered to explore and bring into use their potential of creativity.
According to her, “I implore you all not to relent in learning new ideas which will help your innovative and invention mind.
“Gone are the epoch that people think it is only white collar jobs that are lucrative with the radical paradigm shift now, people with skills are the one controlling the global market and also an emerging as the largest employer of labour.”
The Deputy Managing Director, CFAO Motors, Mr.Kunle Jaiyesimi,
who delivered a special keynote address, emphasised the importance of vocational education in a challenging economy like Nigeria, saying that unemployment was on the increase while possible solutions were suggested in curbing the menace of unemployment via vocational training and skills acquisition.
The pioneer coordinator of the centre, Hon. Wale Adelana, in the same vein, appreciated the graduands with their resolved of becoming problem solvers through the creation of jobs.
