A total of 50 unemployed graduates in various disciplines are learning skills for self-employment in Borno State.
Borno is said to be the worst-hit by insurgency with hundreds of displaced people and unemployed youths.
The graduates, selected from the 27 LGAs of the state, are being trained by the Small Scale Enterprises, Department of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) under the Start Your Own Business (SYOB) programme.
Bukar Adam, a 2014 graduate of business administration from Marte LGA said he could not get employment in his professional environment after several attempts thus, started selling cell phones which was not profitable due to intense competition and lack of marketing skills.
He said he joined the NDE’s training to acquire livestock production skills to go into cattle fattening.
“At the end of training, I hope to raise capital for a small scale cattle fattening business. I will ensure that the business venture is handled correctly to achieve self-sufficiency,” he said.
Hadiza Kachalla a 2018 Business Education graduate, also said unemployment pushed her to start a tailoring and sewing business. She said she hoped to get business ideas and startup loan from the government at the end of the SYOB courses to buy industrial sewing machines to expand the business.
“I now have entrepreneurship skills which will enable me to think critically and incorporate new ideas into the tailoring business. I hope to procure machines and employ workers who could design clothes professionally,” she said.
The Coordinator, NDE, Borno State, Mrs Mairo Aliyu, said the programme is meant to mitigate graduate unemployment and increase productivity. She said the participants learned how to start and grow their own businesses and become self-sustaining.
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