From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has stated that skill acquisition and entrepreneurial programmes were the panacea in tackling youth unemployment in the country.
Speaking at the NYSC skill acquisition centre ground breaking/foundation laying on Thursday in Ezi, Aniocha North Local Government Area, Okowa, represented by the Chief Job Creation Officer, Prof Eric Eboh, said that the skill acquisition programmes would reduce unemployment facing the youths in the country and help them acquire skills that would make them self reliant stressing that the NYSC Skill Acquisition Centre would better the lives of the youths in the state and South/ South Zone and compliment government’s effort and drive to empower youths because of its multiplier effect .
“This scheme is timely because we need wealth and job creators in this era of limited employment opportunity, this initiative is in line with our administration’s job creation scheme, Skill Training And Entrepreniual Prpgramme (STEP) and Youth Agriculture Entraprenuiaship Programme (YAGEP).
“It is my hope that this NYSC skill acquisition centre will turn out thousands of youths that will be business leaders and managers, it has a multiplier effect because those that will be trained will in turn employ more people to work for them after they have been established,” he said, adding that “you have my assurance that my administration will give this centre the needed support to make it succeed.”
The Director General of NYSC, Brigadier General, Sule Zakara Kazare, said that the project was informed by the desire to create jobs for the youths in the zone, explaining that three of such projects have been awarded in the country, viz South-West, (Ekiti State) South-South (Delta) and the northern part (Gombe State) of the country.
He charged youths in the zone to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire the needed skill and be self sufficient.