FG urges stakeholders to invest in youth development
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD), Olusade Adesola, has called for greater investment in the Nigerian youths for societal transformation, noting that when given the right support, the energy and creativity of young people could accelerate development.
Adesola said this during the public presentation of the Ministry’s Work Experience Programme (WEP), in Lagos.
“It is obvious that the right investment in youths would not only build resilient nations, but create conditions that support economic growth and social stability,” he added.
Adesola explained that the youth demography is often perceived as instruments of social and economic instability, crime and delinquency, adding that if potential were adequately harnessed, transformation would be a constant occurrence.
On his part, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, noted that the Adopt Campaign Initiative, is aimed at supporting athletes in the upcoming Olympic Games.
The campaign has two models, which are ‘adopt-a-pitch’, and ‘adopt-a-sports centre’, which are targeted at supporting sporting infrastructure and facilities across the country.
The programme requires individuals or private sector organisations to be committed to rehabilitate and maintain a stadium pitch, or sport centre such as basketball courts, tennis court among others for an agreed period.
According to him, WEP was birthed out of a need to end absence of work place experience, which has been a major cause of unemployment.
According to Dare, the initiative is to ensure that youths acquire a level of experience and hone their skills to make them suitable for employment and obtain skills for self-development.
“We need our corporate organisations to plug in. We need to give our graduates the added advantage they need. A Bachelors of Science in Geography is no longer enough to get you the job. If you go for that job interview and you have zero experience, even if you have first-class, it’s extremely difficult. But if you go for that interview and you have three or four months experience relevant to your course of study, you have an added advantage,” he added.
Dare hinted that the initiative is a three-month internship programme, which caters for graduates in all disciplines.
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