N-Build
By Donald Ugwu
Aba (Abia), March 26, 2018 (NAN) Mr Chinenye Nwogu, the Abia Focal Person for Social Investment, has described the N-Build scheme of the N-power programme as a way of job creation and entrepreneurship.
N-Build trains youths on skills in building construction, particularly welding/fabrication, carpentry and electrical installations.
Nwogu, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Job Creation and Youth Development, said the programme addressed the vision of the governor on youth development, especially skills training.
“We are grateful to the Federal Government for this initiative, especially to the Office of the Vice-President because of the level of very deep coordination and implementation of these programmes that cut across all sectors of the society,’’ he said.
Nwogu noted that the Federal Government’s social investment programmes were impacting on all the segments of the society, especially vulnerable groups.
“Abia has been a success story in terms of N-power.
“ In other programmes of N-power, we have over 12,000 people engaged in the first and second batches of the programme and for N-Build we got a little over 1,600 beneficiaries and we have about six training centres in Abia,’’ the aide said.
According to Nwogu, many youths in Nigeria are not because they are not employable as they lack basic skills to function in the contemporary society that is technically-driven.
“What is provided in this centre is just a solution to that issue.
“The trainees are excited about the programme, we have wonderful cooperation with the centre administrators, the trainers, the centre managers.
“Everybody is excited about the programme, they are passionately supporting the programme to ensure that our youth get the requisite skills they need.
“This will deal with the issue of unemployment. Any youth that goes through this training and leaves here becomes self-reliant, becomes employed and it will reduce crime in our society.
“It will reduce juvenile delinquency and all kinds of challenges that we are facing with youth restiveness,’’ he added.
Meanwhile, one of the trainers, Mr Raymond Aliga, has offered to employ any trainee willing to work with his outfit on passing out from training.
Aliga, the Chief Executive Officer of Logistics De-Luke Ltd. Multi Skill and Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Aba, said the outfit had 60 N-power trainees.
He said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the trainees were enthusiastic to learn and that those who wished to work in the centre at the end of the training would be retained.
Aliga thanked the Federal Government for choosing his centre as one of those to train the youth on carpentry, welding/fabrication and electrical works.
He said the centre had the capacity to engage up to 1,000 youths in each skill area.
Aliga said graduates of the centre could become staff members or use its facilities for their jobs.
He thanked the Federal Government for initiating N-Build scheme for the youth as that was the major way of creating self-employment.
He advised the Federal Government to create such centres in the six geo-political zones and use the personnel for the production of office and home furniture to reduce the cost of importation of such goods.
Aliga called for the effective implementation of the Executive Order which mandates Ministries, Departments and Agencies to patronise local entrepreneurs.
According to him, the skills centres need the off-taking of their products by both the states and federal governments.
“The Abia Government is giving us a pool by giving us projects.
“They have signed agreement to be off-takers of some of our products here and we are also asking the Federal Government to help us.
“If they buy from us it will enable us to employ more people.’’
Aliga said he was motivated to create the centre when he noticed that in the movement of the economy the youth lacked skills and business development ideas.
Among the trainees are Miss Victory Ukaegbu, a Microbiology graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and Nwachukwu Ekerue, a Civil Engineering graduate of Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Ebonyi.
Both trainees in welding/fabrication, said they hoped to be self-employed on graduation. (NAN)
DCU/JCE
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Edited by Chukwudi Ekezie