NDE launches renewed hope employment initiative for A/Ibom youths
By Uko Etim, Uyo
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has launched the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative, a programme to provide skills training and job placement opportunities for unskilled and unemployed youths in Akwa Ibom State.
The Director General of NDE, Mr. Silas Agara, disclosed this during the initiative’s flag-off in Uyo on Friday. NDE is carrying out the initiative in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Represented by the Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of NDE, Mrs Uduak Essien, the DG said the initiative is part of the NDE’s efforts to address unemployment in Nigeria, and it’s aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Agara disclosed that a minimum of 10 persons from each of the 8,809 electoral wards in Nigeria have been recruited.
He said that the beneficiaries will undergo training in over 30 different skill sets, including public works, vocational training, small and medium enterprises, and agricultural programs
The Director General further revealed that 40,000 of the 93,731 people currently enrolling in the programme will receive training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital skills.
“The Renewed Hope Employment Initiative is our modest short-term effort to check the scourge of unemployment in Nigeria. The current employment initiative has been designed to engage 93,731 unskilled and unemployed persons across Nigeria. Various categories of the unskilled and unemployed have been provided for within the framework of the programme, such as school leavers, school dropouts, women, graduates of tertiary institutions, retirees, and persons with special needs, among others.
“In furtherance of the deployment of ICT in our operations, I am delighted to inform you that 40,000 out of the 93,731 persons enrolled in this programme will be receiving training in ICT and digital skills.”
Agara added that a good number of the beneficiaries will be resettled into productive entrepreneurial lives through the provisions of tools, equipment and startup capital, adding those who may not be resettled will be linked with credit granting institutions for further support.
In her welcome address, the State Coordinator of NDE, Essien who was represented by the Assistant Director, Rural Employment Promotion, Mr Omoike Henry congratulated the beneficiaries for being the lucky ones to be trained.
She said the beneficiaries will be trained in their chosen areas of interest for them to become self-reliant, create wealth and generate opportunities for others.
Essien assured that NDE will continue to do its best in addressing the challenges of unemployment in the country.
In his remarks, the Head of Civil Service, Elder Effiong Essien, commended the federal government for accommodating Akwa Ibom youths in the skill acquisition training.
Essien, Represented by the Permanent Secretary of Manpower, Labour and Productivity, Mrs Rita Akpaessien urged the beneficiaries to be serious while undergoing their trainings to enable them become employers of labour.
One of the beneficiaries, Ms. Amaka Michael, thanked the federal government for providing Nigerian youths with the opportunity and promised to make good use of the skills she will acquire
