By Kunle SHONUGA
Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday said that the state was fighting poverty through its skill acquisition programmes.
Ambode, who was represented by his Deputy, Mrs Idiat Adebule, said this at the graduation ceremony of 6,099 students from its various skills and acquisition centres across the state.
The ceremony for the 2017 set of the skill acquisition programme was held in Ikeja where the students were issued certificates.
Ambode said that the skills acquisition centres were well equipped to teach various vocations to ensure the youths got the requisite trainings to produce quality products of global standards.
“We shall continue to provide the enabling environment and support for ‘start ups’ to navigate the commercial channels successfully,’’ he said.
The governor congratulated the 6,099 graduates on successful completion of their courses, saying that poverty had been a major challenge to economic development.
According to him, the skill acquisition programme would make the graduates self-reliant.
Ambode said that another benefit of the programme was that the graduands were qualified to access soft loans from the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund to transform their entrepreneurial visions into reality.
He promised that the government would continue to provide the enabling environment and resources to support startups.
The governor urged parents, guardian, NGO’s and well-wishers to continue to support the graduates as they aspire to achieve their entrepreneurial goals.
Ambode commended the heads of all 17 skill acquisition and professional training centres across the state for a good job in training their students.
He implored the graduates to live up to the expectations of the programme and be good ambassadors of their various skill acquisition and professional training centres.
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Dr Lola Akande, said that the graduates were trained in various vocations which included bead stringing, catering and hotel management, computer studies, aluminum fabrication, among others.
Akande said that over 12,000 jobs had been created so far through the scheme and that the graduates could access loans from the Employment Trust Fund, (ETF) to grow their businesses.
She explained that government has earmarked N25 billion for the programme for four years with N6.25 billion to be disbursed annually.
Some of the graduates expressed optimism.
A Fashion Designing graduate, Mr Adesoji Gbenga, said that the one year programme had broadened his knowledge of fashion and made him confident to open his own workshop.
He thanked the government “for investing in the lives of young ones’’.
An instructor of Art and Bead Making, from the Igando Centre, Mrs Abimbola Kolawole, , said that the training had empowered several youths to become employers of labour.
“Every six months, new set of students are admitted into the centre,’’ she said.
