THE National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Kwara State has trained 150 unemployed school leavers in the art of environmental design, under Environmental Beautification Training Scheme (EBTS).
Speaking at the opening of the free three-month training workshop in Ilorin on Tuesday, the acting director general of the agency, Mr Kunle Obayan, said that the programme was aimed at making beneficiaries self-employed and job creators.
The NDE boss, who said that the agency was poised at exploring new areas of job creation, added that participants at the workshop would be trained on hard and soft landscaping such as interlocking blocks, POP and flowering.
Mr Obayan said that beneficiaries of the programme would also be provided with revolving loan to give them viable start-up in the trade.
He, therefore, appealed to Kwara State government, 16 Local Government Areas, non-governmental organisations, and wealthy individuals to partner with the agency in job creation especially at absorbing and resettling the beneficiaries.
Also speaking, the state coordinator of the NDE in the state, Mr Adeyemo Ademola, assured participants of the training scheme of prospects, adding that those yet to be selected should be hopeful as the scheme was continuous.