The federal government has flagged off the training programme for unskilled persons aimed at equipping them with employable skills that would boost their socio-economic wellbeing.
Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Chris Ngige said this while inaugurating the programme in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital (North-Central zone).
He said the training was for creating safety-net jobs for unskilled persons in Nigeria at institutional level.
Ngige, represented by the Ministry’s Head, Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun, noted that the training was aimed at achieving the objectives of the Safety Net Jobs for Unskilled Persons (SNJUP) programme of government, designed for unskilled persons to acquire skills for a sustainable livelihood.
The minister disclosed that the SNJUP was designed by the federal government “to pull the unskilled persons off the street and provide them with a sustainable means of livelihood by engaging them in productive activities.”
He added that the SNJUP programme would ultimately reduce the high rate of unemployment among unskilled persons.
Ngige classified the unskilled persons as “young persons in the age bracket of 12 – 34 years with educational qualifications in the range of nil to senior secondary school certificate.”
Ngige further noted that the journey to the take-off of the training started from a National Survey for Generation of Baseline Data on Unskilled Persons in Nigeria on institutional basis, to the Training Needs Assessment which identified available and profitable skills within the beneficiary’s individual environment.
The minister urged the participants at the three-month intensive skills training programme to maximize the opportunity and master every skill offered in the training.
Earlier, the Kogi state Labour Controller, Mrs.Oluwatoyin Olugbami, congratulated the beneficiaries on being chosen, and enjoined them to pay attention and be of good conduct.
The training programme was organised in all the six geopolitical zones.
