The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced training of 880 youths in Kano State on its Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS).
Speaking at the ceremony, Acting NDE Director General Abubakar Nuhu-Fikpo said the training was aimed at equipping youths with skills to make them self-reliant.
Nuhu-Fikpo, represented by Malam Shitu Abubakar, Chief Vocational Development Officer, NDE, said 20 trainees were selected from each of the 44 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
He said that the trainees would be engaged in various skills acquisition programmes under the Vocational Skill Development (VSD) for three months.
“The programme is part of Federal Government’s programmes aimed at reducing unemployment in the country, it is designed for the unemployed, underemployed and the vulnerable people across the country,” he said.
He said that the training was also targeted at reducing the unemployment situation and youth restiveness in the country.
“The programme was supposed to have started in November 2020, but due to some reasons it was delayed until now,” Nuhu-Fikpo said.
In his remarks, the state NDE Coordinator, Alhaji Iliyasu Ahmed, urged the trainees to pay full attention during the training to enable them acquire skills at the end of the training.
He said that Nigerians would be the ultimate beneficiaries of opportunities and skills that would be learnt during the training and urged the trainees to be up and doing during the training.
According to him, at the end of the three months training, the trainees will be provided with tools to establish their own businesses.
Mr Usman Umar, one of the trainees commended the government for the initiative and pledged to pay maximum attention during the training.
“This gesture will go a long way in reducing the high rate of unemployment among youths in the country,” he said.(NAN)
