On Tuesday, the National Directorate of Employment in Kaduna resettled 553 women and youth who had undergone training in various skills with starter packs and soft loans.

The empowerment programme, targeting 93,731 unskilled and unemployed Nigerians, is part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Employment Initiative to reduce unemployment nationwide.

The coordinator, Halima Waziri, said the directorate provided vocational, agricultural, and entrepreneurial training and temporary jobs in the public works sector.

“Out of the 93,731 beneficiaries, 2,613 were allocated to Kaduna State, with at least 10 individuals per ward benefiting, including persons with special needs.

“Although only 1,253 beneficiaries were documented for training, 850 were male while 403 were female in the just-concluded training,” Ms Waziri said.

She explained that the starter packs and loan beneficiaries were selected based on training performance, which covered digital marketing, catering, fashion design, and more.

Ms Waziri noted that 160 beneficiaries had already received their starter packs in the first phase, while the remaining 393 would be accommodated in the second phase.

The NDE director-general, Silas Agara, stated that the employment initiative was built on three core pillars: skills development, resettlement, and job creation.

Mr Agara said the directorate had trained 33,692 unemployed women, youth, and persons with disabilities. He said 5,532 beneficiaries nationwide would receive loans and starter packs to help them establish their own businesses.

A person living with a disability, Nasir Muhammad, who trained in phone repair, thanked the NDE.

Similarly, a nursing mother, Asabe Dogo, who trained in catering, described the initiative as a privilege since she could not afford private lessons.

(NAN)