Fatai Ayoola, the chairman of the Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area in Lagos, says conventional education is not enough to prepare children for the future.

Mr Ayoola said with the current economic realities, parents and guardians should encourage children to embrace vocational training to become entrepreneurs.

“In whatever we do, we can’t take away the fact that education is important, but we must also encourage our upcoming generations to combine education with vocational training,” said the LG boss.

In an interview with journalists in Lagos on Sunday, he said talented children in sports, music, fashion and other vocations should be given the necessary support to hone their skills.

“In my days growing up, we had this; when you get back from school, you either go to a mechanic workshop or tailoring shop. What they failed to do then was to blend the two.

“The reality of our economy now doesn’t permit us to do just one thing; our youths need to multitask,” he said.

For this reason, he said the council organised the 2024 Ajegunle Summer Camp in August to help children with the potential to combine education and skills acquisition in their chosen fields.

He said 350 children attended the one-month skills development programme at the Maracana Stadium, Ajegunle, where they played football, basketball, table tennis and board games.

Mr Ayoola said the council would hold another training programme for youths in October, saying, “We have started preparation for the programme known as Ajeromi Ifelodun Youth Empowerment Summit, 2024 (AJIF), which will cost us N400 million.”

He said the vocations include screen technology, printing, car tracking, ICT, catering services, hotel management, furniture, fashion design, and soap making.

“We also have shoe making, phone repairs, painting, electrical services, CCTV/Solar/Inverters installation, vulcanising, furniture and fish farming,” Mr Ayoola said.

He reiterated his administration’s commitment to youth development, noting that about 5,000 youths have benefited from various vocational training programmes organised by his council.

(NAN)