National Directorate of Employment ( NDE) says that it has commenced training of 1, 470 indigenes of Nasarawa on different skills acquisition programmes.

This, the Directorate said, was to tackle unemployment, a major factor responsible for violent crimes, kidnappings, thuggery amongst other vices in the country.

Silas Agara, director-general, NDE, stated this at inauguration of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative by the NDE in collaboration with the federal ministry of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation on Friday in Lafia.

Represented by Fagbemi Sunday, the Nasarawa state NDE coordinator, Mr Agara said the initiative is the agency’s modest short term effort at checking the scourge of unemployment in Nigeria. 

“The current employment initiative has been designed to engage a total of 93,731 unskilled and unemployed persons across Nigeria.

“Inclusiveness has been a cardinal consideration as we designed this programme.

“We have ensured that a minimum of 10 persons from each of the 8,809 electoral wards in Nigeria were recruited to benefit from the 30 skill sets.

“This cuts across our four core programmes of Vocational Skills Development, Small Scale Enterprises, Rural Employment Promotion and Special Public Works,” he said.

Mr Agara said that 10 unemployed persons were selected  from each of the 147 wards of the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa. 

“The 1,470 beneficiaries in the state will be lifted from the labour market, trained and empowered in vocational skills, entrepreneur skills development and other activities in the special public works sector of the state economy,” he said. 

The director-general maintained that after the training,  a good number of the beneficiaries would  be resettled into productive entrepreneurial lives through the provision of tools, equipment and startup capital.

”In furtherance of the deployment of ICT in our operations, I am delighted to inform you that 40,000 out of the 93,731 persons enrolled in this programme will be receiving training in ICT and digital skills,” he added. 

He appreciated the minister of labour and employment, Muhammad Maigeri-Dingyadi, for his support to the Directorate.

In his remarks, the state coordinator of NDE, Fagbemi  Sunday, represented by Hassan Gimba, head of NDE small scale enterprises in the state, said the event was the directorate’s strategy to actualise her vision of “Jobs for All” in Nasarawa and the country at large.

He explained that the training focused at various categories of unemployed persons – youth, graduates, non-graduates, school leavers, school drop outs, women, as well as people living with disabilities amongst others in both the private and public sector.

The state coordinator called on individuals, LGAs, NGO’s and interested partners to collaborate with the directorate to reduce unemployment in the state.

He appreciated Gov. Abdullahi Sule for his support and resolve to collaborate with the directorate to generate employment and reduce poverty in the state.

Mr Sunday also lauded the NDE director -general for his vision in the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Employment Initiative to reduce unemployment in Nigeria.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Agbo Christopher appreciated NDE for the gesture and promised to take their training seriously.

(NAN)