A total of 204 youths in Bauchi State have been trained and graduated by the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) under its ICT training program.
The trainees who have undergone training in various ICT programs were handed over their starter packs and the sum of N20, 000 each to enable them to start their own businesses and become employers of labour thereby reducing the rate of unemployment in the state.
While speaking at the graduation ceremony held, on Friday, at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Managing Director/CEO of the NEDC, Mohammed Goni Alkali said that the youths were carefully selected across the 20 LGAs of the state and were made to undergo the skill acquisition in ICT.
He added that with the training, the youths will contribute to the economic development of the state and in turn complement governments efforts at reducing the rate of unemployment among the youths.
Goni Alkali further said that considering that youths are the ones, mostly engaged in restfulness and other vices in the society, the training will take them off the streets and provide means of livelihood and self-sustenance to them.
The NEDC MD/CEO then said that a total of 170 had earlier been trained and graduated in the first batch making the state to be in lead with a combined total of 374 youths that have so far benefited from the program.
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He said that in line with its mandate, the NEDC established ICT resource centres in each of the 6 states of the North-East which is hosted in tertiary institutions in the states where a total of 2400 youths are to be trained in the first phase drawn from the different sectors of the community across the 6 states annually.
He then challenged the beneficiaries to quickly put to use the knowledge they have acquired as well as recruit others who they will train thereby expanding the scope of the scheme.
The NEDC also donated a number of agricultural implements including tractors, planters, sprayers, loaders and tillers to the state government to boost agric production in the state which is one of the objectives of the Commission.
While speaking at the ceremony, Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir commended NEDC for the program which he said has complemented efforts of the government in creating employment opportunities for its teeming youths.
Bala Mohammed who was represented by his Deputy, Sen Baba Tela said that skills Acquisition is the most important way of ending unemployment among the youths because according to him, white-collar jobs are not readily available anywhere in the country now.
The governor further assured that his administration will continue to prioritize skills Acquisition by the youths and women who he said are the backbone of the administration and must be well taken care of through mentoring.
He then congratulated the 204 graduands urging them not to go dump what they have learnt aside but to put it into practice by starting their businesses immediately having been given starter packs and take-off grant of N20000 each.