From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), on Tuesday, flagged off the School-On-Wheels Skills Acquisition Empowerment Scheme for twenty unemployed youths and women in Kogi state.
The School-On-Wheels is a Mobile Training Workshop that is usually deployed to rural areas where there are no competent Master Craftsmen to serve as trainers to impact skills to the unemployed.
The Director General of NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo who was represented by the Kogi state Coordinator, Mallam Abubakar Zakari while declaring the Workshop open, said that the training was put in place to make the beneficiaries productive and self-sustaining.
According to the Director General “the NDE is saddled with the responsibility of designing and ensuring the implementation of job creation programmes that will promote attitudinal change, employment generation, reduce poverty and enhance wealth creation”
Earlier in her welcome address, the Vocational Skills Development Offer (VSDO), Mrs Lydia Opaluwa, urged the trainees to take their destinies in their hands by ensuring judicious use of the rare privilege.
The facilitator of the programme from the NDE headquarters, Abuja, Mr. Charles Aye in his goodwill message on behalf of the Director of Vocational Skills Development Department, charged the participants to embrace the federal government’s efforts in investing heavily on the productivity of its citizens.
Also in her goodwill message, The Controller of Labour, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Kogi State Office, Mrs. O.O. Olugbami admonished the beneficiaries to take the training seriously as it is capable of lifting them out of poverty.
Responding on behalf of other participants, Mr. Haruna Danjuma Hayatu appreciated the NDE and the federal government for the gesture and promised to be good ambassador of the scheme.