The Federal Government has commenced the training of youths in the North-East region on vocational skills, aimed at creating employment for them.
The training in the North-East region is part of a nationwide programme, organised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, to generate employment for youths through the acquisition of vocational skills.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Yerima Peter Tarfa, while flagging off the programme in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital, said “the training will meet the skills gap need of employers and also create other employers of labour within the region.”
He also disclosed that the training was tailored to suit the peculiar needs of the North-East region, which had been ravaged by insurgency and the attendant insecurity in recent times.
The Permanent Secretary stated that the training would equip the youths of the region with the requisite skills to earn a meaningful livelihood to sustain them and their families, as well as turn them away from a life of crime and criminality.
Tarfa disclosed that the Federal Government initiated the nationwide Youth Training on Vocational Skills programme to fight poverty, underemployment, and unemployment, as part of its commitment to upgrading the socio-economic status of the citizens.
According to him, “the training is expected to build capacity of our teeming youths, in order to be the agents of change and development in the society.”
He noted that the Training, a nationwide programme for youths in all the regions, was first flagged off in the South-South region, then North-Central, North-West and South-East, North-East, and to be followed by the South-West.
The Permanent Secretary noted that training the youths across the nation has shown Government’s commitment to improving the living standard of the citizens, which is a component of Government’s policies on economic stability, industrialisation and social inclusion.
The Director, Skills Development and Certification Department, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Amos Johnson, stated that the training met the objective of youth inclusiveness in programmes of Government.