FG Targets 5m Nigerians With Skills Training

The Federal Government has said its skills acquisition and empowerment program is targeting five million Nigerians with practical skills to improve their livelihoods and promote economic independence.

The program, implemented under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), is being expanded across the country after an earlier phase in the Federal Capital Territory.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Dr Abiola Arogundade, disclosed this on Monday in Ibadan at the commencement of the Oyo State phase of the program.

The Oyo training, which runs from September 28 to October 9, is designed to equip 200 young Nigerians with marketable skills in Graphics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), makeup artistry and fashion designing.

Of the participants, 30 are undergoing Graphics/AI training, while 85 each are enrolled in makeup artistry and fashion designing.

Arogundade said the programme would go beyond training by connecting beneficiaries to opportunities and providing tools to help them start or expand businesses.

Graphics/AI trainees will receive laptops, makeup trainees will get fully equipped makeup kits, while fashion trainees will receive sewing machines and starter kits.

She also announced that 500 tablets would be distributed to young Nigerians at the programme’s grand finale on October 9 as part of the government’s digital empowerment drive.

Arogundade said the initiative would be replicated across the six geopolitical zones, with skills selected based on local market demand, relevance and participants’ preferences.

The Federal Government said the programme is intended to reduce unemployment and underemployment, promote entrepreneurship and create sustainable livelihood opportunities for young Nigerians.

Earlier, keynote speaker for the Graphics/AI training, Mrs Oluronke Shonubi, said the growing use of artificial intelligence could create new opportunities for young Nigerians and improve their employability.

One of the beneficiaries, Idowu Olalere, a 400-level student of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, said the training would help participants acquire skills that match changing labour market demands.