At the graduation ceremony held for the graduands, the Project Coordinator, Peter Papka said the GIs internship is geared towards providing unemployed youths with jobs of their own.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, a survey made in 2011 shows that 16 million people are unemployed. More than 35 per cent of youths between 18 and 30 years are still unemployed. Part of the windows established by SURE-P is to create opportunities and employment.
“This is what the Federal Government is doing to invest in human capital. Unemployment is not only government’s problem, it is everybody’s problem. Human capital must be developed and our graduates must be employed and be empowered to create jobs for themselves,” Papka said.
The project coordinator, however, expressed displeasure at the low turnout in Lagos where the 84 interns and 26 firms participated. This is against 158 interns and 50 firms that participated in Abuja in the scheme. He therefore urged the media to create more awareness on this as it affords the youths to be employable.
Detoun Ogwo, the Chief Executive Officer of Afterschool Graduate Development Centre AGDC tasked the graduating youth to make use of their three-day training to develop their skills. She noted that GIS receives graduates based on first come-first serve basis and that applicants must be between 18 and 40 years of age.