The Federal Government has begun monitoring and evaluating of soft loans given to unemployed youths trained by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) on various skill acquisition programmes.
NDE Director-General, Abubakar Fikpo, Wednesday in Abuja conducted journalists around beneficiaries’ businesses in different areas.
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He urged the youths to come to terms with the reality that white-collar jobs were no longer available in the country.
“Yes, it’s good to get the certificates, but it’s also good to have skills. So, we want the attitude of unemployed Nigerians to change because we keep saying that certificates will not pay your bills.
“But your hands are ready-made tools for you. The moment you acquire skills, you can go to fend for yourself. You can have something to do,” the NDE boss said.
One of the beneficiaries and owner of a bakery at Gwagwa, Christopher Kadiri, said the loan and skills he acquired from the NDE programme helped in expanding his business.
He said he moved from snack production to bread production with over 20 direct staff and 10 marketers.
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