By Michael Olugbode
Borno State Government has disclosed that its job portal established for sourcing employment opportunities for indigenes of the state has received 70,000 applications so far.
The state Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Babagana Mustapha, made the disclosure yesterday in Maiduguri at a press briefing.
He said of the 70,000 applicants, more than 300 have been recommended for different job opportunities.
Mustapha said the job portal created early this year would register on continuous basis unemployed youths in the state.
He noted that the repository would enable planning and propel the training/orientation in order to improve the skills of the people and set career trajectory for Borno State young talents.
The commissioner said: “Evidence-based information derivable in the skill acquisition process and comprehensive process goals include skills needed, and whether the skills would be incorporated into the skillsets of the current employees, or what skills are needed the most as well as merging the skill with the skills needed.
“The platform will be readily available at any time for our clients to access. We can as well provide information for our stakeholders-potential employers and other data users.”
He said Governor Umara Zulum’s government is providing meaningful training opportunities for basic vocational/technical education as a result of the insurgency, through the renovation of the existing Vocational Training Centres (VTCs)/Technical Collages (TCs); construction of new VTCs/TCs and the establishment of Vocational Enterprise Institutions (VEI) in each of the three senatorial zones of the state.
The commissioner said in view of the foregoing, the governor constructed a new Vocational Enterprise Institution in Muna, Jere and two others currently under construction at different stages in Magumeri and Mafa Local Government Areas.
“The Vocational Enterprise Institution in Muna has 14 trades with capacity of 700 trainees and boarding facilities (six blocks of hostels, each block has 32 rooms). Zulum also completed the construction of community vocational training centre in Marama, Hawul.
“The VEI will provide training for dropout wishing to go into self-employment; school leavers wishing to acquire practical skill to secure employment and adult seeking skill or opportunities to re-skill themselves.
“It will run three-year modular programmes, where each year of study could be terminal, and shall have cogent and flexible structure and content that will equip the trainee with a practical working skill and possibility to exit at that level,” Mustapha said.
Also, he said the ministry embarked on the optimisation of the management of the streetlight network and grid connection of nine sub-stations namely: Borno Express, West End, Mairi, New GRA, Gongulon, Polo Junction, Open air-Theatre, Lagos street and MMC sub-stations.
