Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe, has commended the state’s Human Capital Development office, Oxfam Nigeria, and Poise Graduate Academy for the successful training of 100 youths on entrepreneurship.
Akabe gave the commendation while speaking with newsmen during a visit to the venue of the training in Lafia the state capital.
He adjudged the training exercise as being successful given the reports he received and the interactions he had with the 100 participants who were drawn from across the 13 local government areas of the state.
“From my interactions with the organizers and participants, I think we are getting it right. From what I was told, there are about 100 participants who have been well trained in various skills. I was also informed that the participants are determined and committed to improving their knowledge and from my interactions with them, I am satisfied,” he said.
The Deputy Governor also expressed confidence that the participants after completing the training will attract employers in a scheduled job fair planned for them on November 18th and that they will be able to start businesses of their own and be employers of labour.
“The job fair is where we are going to bring the employers and employees together. We are hoping and praying that some of them will be able to grab jobs of their own”, he added.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdullahi Sule on Human Capital Development, Habiba Balarebe-Suleiman, said that the training had been successful because organizers had been able to impact 21st-century skills on the participants aimed at making them employable and self-reliant.
“I can comfortably say that we have had a total change and achieved a lot of our expected outcome. So yes, it has been very intense because every day, we do back-to-back full course training with theory and practical sessions. So it has been quite an amazing experience for them based on the testimonies we get”, she said.
The SSA to the Governor expressed confidence in the participants attracting employment and said that those interested in entrepreneurship will be able to make it on their own based on the training they have received.
“We tried to give them the skill and knowledge they need so that when eventually they gain employment or start businesses, they will be able to handle whatever they are doing seriously and be more productive in their lines of work,” she added.
One of the participants, Mr. Sunusi Abdulsalam, who spoke to our Correspondent, lauded the state government for the training and promised to put the employability and entrepreneurship skill he has learned into good use.
Dominica Nwabufo
