In a bid to contribute to the reduction in unemployment in Nigeria, a non-profit organisation, Engage Youth Africa Initiative, during the week, trained over 30 youths in varying digital and soft skills in Ibadan.
The training which was held between Monday, May 27 and Friday, May 31, had in attendance participants between the ages of 15 and 35.
Speaking at the event, the founder, Engage Youth Africa Initiative, Dr Gbolahan Oyelakin, explained that the free training was borne out of the need to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 4 and 5.
According to Oyelakin, the nonprofit Pan-African youth-focused organisation, “aim at to upskilling youths in Ibadan, because we noticed a number of them, even having gone to school, are still unemployed. They’re looking for how to make ends meet. So we feel that one of the ways to leverage this is to establish means of income by helping them with these skills.
“So, we’re looking at scaling them up in digital and power skills like emotional intelligence, effective leadership skills, and also the power of negotiation.
“This we believe will equip them properly, to solve problems and also be able to develop means of livelihood to generate income for themselves when they’re solving problems and delivering services to people.”
While calling for support and collaboration, he charged the government on the need to attention to technical education and training for youth.
“We are going to continue to run it for free with collaborations and support from everyone and governments. We’re going to expand it to other communities within Ibadan and other locations,” he added.
Describing the training as its maiden edition in Ibadan, the project coordinator, Abiodun Olawoore, explained that the participants have been equipped with digital skills like graphic designing, content writing/creation, and social media management.
According to him, “This is the first edition in Ibadan. We embarked on a literacy advocacy and educational support programme in the Sabe community, in the Oke-Ogun part of Oyo State some time ago. And I can say the feedback from participants has been impressive.”
He added that: “We are planning the second edition for August in Ibadan here, to enable students to be able to participate. So, at the beginning of the third term break in August, we will be organising a training for them in different entrepreneurship skills.”
One of the beneficiaries, Adebayo Damilare Paul, expressed gratitude for the opportunity given by the NGO to hone participants’ digital skills in the contemporary world.
“I’m so much interested in content creation and social media management. And I see myself creating purpose and making impacts in them,” he added.
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