Director General (DG), LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, has emphasised the need to empower young people to effectively navigate technological advancements and shifting labour market dynamics .
She said that the future of a nation rests in its human resource, adding that the nation needs youths, who can learn, adapt to change and persuade others to do the same.
She said this at the pioneer graduation ceremony of the Skills Development for Youth Employment (SKYE) programme, organised by the LCCI in partnership with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and SEQUA.
The programme equipped 22 youths with three trades namely, Office Administration (OA), Industrial Electronics Maintenance (IEM) and Industrial Mechanic Machinery and Fitter (IMMF).
She stated that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provides an avenue to meet the demands of market dynamics by reducing access barriers to the world of work, ensuring that skills gained are relevant, recognised and certified, promoting green skills and practices and offering skills development opportunities for youths not in education, employment and training.
According to Almona, the programme focuses on upscaling skills in youths between the ages of 18-35 years in selected trades. It will be executed as a National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) programme to be certified by the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB) with a minimum entry requirement of senior school certificate examination.
Chairperson, the Business Education Services and Training (BEST), Mojisola Bakare, said the graduands have been trained according to acceptable industry standards. She explained that the training is a dual vocation al and Competence-Based Training (CBT) System, where all learners are required to undergo a total of 12 months of learning in an alternation of one month in a Training Centre/Workshop and one month in a workplace.
The idea behind this system is to ensure the creation of competencies fit to meet the skill needs of the labour market. She urged par ents to encourage their children to enroll and participate in vocational and technical training programmes as there are vast opportunities available in the sector .
Director, BEST Unit, LCCI, Dr Taiwo Nolas-Alausa, said youths in Nigeria are crucial to economic development in the country because they possess so much talent, strength, agility and capacity to learn, unlearn and relearn skills that organisations need to excel.
While appreciating the numerous organisations that allowed the students to intern in their workplace, he stated that the programme focuses on upskilling youths with minimum entry requirements of senior school certificates in selected trades.
