Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Monday disclosed his plan to
create 40, 000 direct jobs in the next four years for youths in Kwara
state.
The youth empowerment scheme will be carried out under skill
acquisition, training and empowerment programme (STEP) of Saraki Employment and Empowerment Centre (SEEC), Ilorin.
The Managing Consultant for STEP, Mr. Nasir Abdulqadir, disclosed this at a news conference in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, noting that 250 beneficiaries out of 10, 000 applicants had been selected for the pilot scheme that would commence on November 12, 2016.
The consultant said that the programme was aimed at training and
empowering youth with advanced skills in computer engineering,
software development, animation, mechatronics engineering,
cinematography, event management, interior decorations and catering services among others.
According to him, “The goal of the senate president is to directly
train over 40,000 youth from within and outside Kwara state in skills that can make them compete with their counterparts all over the world.
With 40,000 youth trained in the next four years under the STEP
programme, we believe the multiplier effects will have direct impact
on job creation and economic growth of Kwara state in particular and
Nigeria in general.”
Abdulkadir, who said that the programme had no political colouration, added that beneficiaries would be funded with seed money to start vtheir business after the training.
He also said that efforts would be made to create market for the
beneficiaries of the programme to ease their success rate, adding that both local and state governments had agreed to patronize them.
He said that beneficiaries of the programme included 85 per cent of
indigenes of Kwara state, while others were non-indigenes, adding that the ratio was 55:45 males and females with five per cent allocation made for people living with disabilities.
“In the same vein, about 13 per cent of the total figures are holders
of Masters degree, 47 per cent are graduates with first degrees and
Higher National Diploma (HND), while the rest have lower academic
certifications”, he said.
