The Lagos State Government has promised to equip its youths, especially young graduates, with entrepreneurial skills.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, stated this while inaugurating the ‘Ready Set Work’ scheme targeted at equipping final year students in the state’s tertiary institutions with employable skills on Tuesday in Lagos.
The initiative, Bank-Olemoh added, would offer life-changing opportunities for the participants to acquire competence for better future.
Bank-Olemoh, who urged the would-be participants to strive harder to achieve success, said skills and not just certificates would prepare them for the labour market.
He said, “With the increasing number of unemployed persons in the country, the corporate world will only be interested in employing quality and skilful graduates.”
He noted that the 13-week training session, which would commence from June 11, would accommodate 500 participants.
Explaining why students from the colleges of education were not part of the initiative, the governor’s aide said the state government was planning a scheme that would cater to their peculiar profession.
The Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, also noted that the state government was committed to tackling the huge youth unemployment in the state.
The commissioner, who urged students to identify and harness their capabilities, stated that his ministry would continue to provide the enabling environment for them to operate.
Earlier, the Operations Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Pedro Omontuemhen, said the organisation was collaborating with the government to prepare the participants for the “world of work”.
He said, “Recent figures from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics and other sources show a wide employment deficit with products of tertiary institutions far out-pacing available jobs.
“While availability of skills remains the major challenge of many private sector organisations, it has been discovered that the graduates that are produced are not suitable for the available jobs.”
He urged universities and other educational institutions to foster entrepreneurial learning environment, as well as provide their students with relevant experiences.
“Educators and governments need to open up spaces to involve youths’ opinion, expand the relevance of degrees for young people and support their learning experiences with more structured learning and development paths.
“This challenge does not fall only on governments and educational institutions, students and employers alike will need to be more proactive in engaging with decision-makers to influence decisions and support initiatives in order to improve the situation.”
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