DG of NDE harps on acquisition of vocational skills to address unemployment.

[FMINigeria]

                        The Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mallam Abubakar has disclosed that the Nigerian Government is embarking on a youth employment scheme through the Rural Employment Promotion (REP), Small Scale Enterprises (SSE), the  Special Public Works (SPW) and Vocational Skills Development (VSD) programmes as strategy to address prevalence of unemployment.

The DG of NDE disclosed this recently at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Ikolaba in  Ibadan, Oyo State.

While addressing the graduating youths of the self-employment scheme, he described the programme as rewarding; saying the exercise would inject into the economy, vibrant young entrepreneurs who would be self-reliant as well as create employment and wealth opportunities for teeming job seekers.

Mallam Abubakar noted that the youths who were graduating had formed the crop of  new  generation auto-mechanics, caterers, fashion and shoe designers, metal mechanists and welders among others that would provide products and services necessary for national economic growth.

The Director-General re-iterated that the NDE has initiated vocational training skills for the physically challenged, widows, flood victims, orphans, people living with HIV/AIDs and intercourse hawkers to combat anti-social behaviours such as street begging, veiled begging and armed robbery.

He explained that the training skills will serve to remove frustration and instill self-worth and self-confidence in some youths through the provision of marketable skills; reduce dependence on others, thereby reducing poverty and integrate them into the Nigerian social and economic environment. He also charged the stakeholders in employment related matters to compliment NDE programmes through provision of jobs, thereby fighting hunger and poverty.

Earlier, the Oyo State Coordinator for NDE, Ladoke M.O. while speaking at the disbursement of resettlement kits to fourteen beneficiaries in the technical and domestic trades, explained that the state directorate has tailored its programmes towards meeting potential challenges across the globe in accordance to the Federal Government's Transformation Agenda.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria