The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced the training of 690 youths on various vocational skills across three centres in Benue State.
Our correspondent reports that the trainees including youths and women were drawn from across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state for the three months intensive training taking place simultaneously in Makurdi, Otukpo and Sankera.
The training is in tandem with the Advanced National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (A-NOAS) and Basic National Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS) of the Vocational Skills Development (VSD) department of the NDE.
Director -General of NDE, Alhaji Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, who flagged off the exercise in Makurdi, said the 690 participants comprised 230 A-NOAS and 460 B-NOAS trainees in Benue.
Represented by the State Coordinator, Emmanuel Ugela, the director general counselled the trainees to make use of the opportunity to acquire marketable skills; become employed and self-reliant, thereby reducing poverty and hunger as well as stem youth restiveness.
“I wish to implore those of you that have been privileged to benefit from these two training schemes to demonstrate a high sense of commitment to the training. It is a stepping stone to greater things to come ahead,” the director general said.
Also, the NDE Director of VSD (Headquarters) who was represented by the Senior Vocational Skill Development Officer, Musa Ibrahim, stressed the need for all the beneficiaries to use the opportunity to better themselves, their families and the society at large.
The Training Manager of the centre, Business, Engineering Skills Training (BEST), Agee Tarvershima, charged the trainees to consider the golden opportunity and avail themselves to be properly trained, especially as they would be given starter packs at the end of the training to begin their trade.
Tarvershima added, “don’t waste these three months’ opportunity and don’t play truancy.”
A trainee, Joseph Sabo, on behalf of his colleagues thanked the NDE for creating the opportunity for them to thrive in their quest to become economically independent.
