The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has flagged off training schemes for graduates and artisans in Ekiti state for skills acquisition and gaining of work experience in public and private entities.
The Director General of NDE, Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo who spoke during the flag-off in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said the trainings were under the Graduate Attachment Programme (GAP) and the Environmental Beautification Training Scheme (EBTS) of the Special Public Works department.
Represented by the NDE state coordinator, Sanusi Akeem, the DG explained that the GAP training was important to expose the 48 beneficiaries to professional experience by attaching them to offices in the society.
He declared that the agency was determined to banish poverty in society by training and encouraging youths to acquire skills for economic development.
He said, “Here, transient employment opportunities are offered to the unemployed Graduate for a stipulated period of three (3) to six (6) months under condign organizations which may be; public sector, private sector or corporate entity.
“For content, the GAP has a twin objective of providing a platform for internship whereby the participant garners cognate professional experience on the one hand and furnish the same participant with a possibility of being offered permanent employment by the collaborating organization on the other hand.
“By this, you will concur with me that the NDE via its vast and deep repository of institutions has been able to make the deployment process seamless such that you (i.e. the Participant) are posted to readily available outfits which are located in no distant places from your places of residence.”
In the beautification scheme, the DG added that the 30 beneficiaries would be trained on relevant skills necessary for interior and exterior decoration in the environment.
“The skills set offered under the EBTS are categorized into three (3) sub-headings. These are; hard landscaping: tilling works, production, setting and maintenance of interlocks, kerbs, cistern rings, balusters, stamping e.t.c
“Soft Landscaping; Horticultural works which entail raising nurseries, planting and maintenance of grasses, shrubs, hedges, flowers and trees in parks, gardens e.t.c.
“Plaster Of Paris (P.O.P) design and production for residential and corporate interior building aesthetics, “ he said.
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