Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Enugu State Government says it is targeting no fewer than 40,000 youths to be trained and empowered with modern skills in various human endeavours annually.
The state Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr Lloyd Ekweremadu, told newsmen Friday that the programme would come in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and up-scaling of existing skills to international standards.
According to him, the state government design for youth skill up-scaling and empowerment was a multi-sectoral approach involving most of the ministries, while the youth ministry coordinates.
He said that the programmes were designed in various ministries in a way to meet the targeted 40,000 youths annually.
The commissioner also noted that within some months in office, his ministry had been able to partner some organisations and bodies on providing skills and general empowerment.
“We have an ongoing online Artificial Intelligence (AI) training and digital skill up-scaling with ALX for now we have trained 500 youths while thousands more will be trained before the end of the year.
“This training is meant to give our youths the necessary hi-tech knowledge for various human endeavours and get certified to gain from the competitive international labour market.
“Just recently, we concluded training for 500 female physically challenged in collaboration with Potters Will Foundation on making of daily need household items and consumables such as liquid and hard soaps, toiletries, bleach, perfume/fragrance and pomade among others.
“We have trained 500 youths across the 17 council areas on Songhai modern agricultural farming and another batch of 250 youths are currently undergoing training on Songhai modern agricultural farming.
“While we have a target of training thousands of youths in Songhai modern agricultural farming before the year runs out,” he said.
He said that after the training, depending on what was trained on, there would be a starter pack given to beneficiaries to immediately start to commercially practise what they had learnt and add value to the economy of the state.
Ekweremadu said that all these efforts to raise youths’ productive and innovative capacities were designed to prepare youths to key into the drive to improve the economic status of the state from the present $4.4 billion to $30 billion.
“The state government believes that the expansion of the economic base and earning of the state is highly possible especially when youths fully key into it and become the drivers of the aspiration,” he said.
