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Lagos skills acquisition centres produce 6,000 graduates yearly  

By Gbenga Salau
09 May 2021   |   4:11 am
Lagos State Government has disclosed that its upgraded skill acquisition centres produce 6000 graduates yearly with goal of eradicating poverty within the state.

Lagos State Government has disclosed that its upgraded skill acquisition centres produce 6000 graduates yearly with goal of eradicating poverty within the state. 
 
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Cecilia Bolaji Dada, stated that 6, 780 women from five geographical areas of the state, had the privilege of learning different vocations with participants receiving adequate start-up kits to enable them grow their businesses.

She said empowerment strategies initiated by the ministry had directly or indirectly benefited every family in the state, including men, women, adult, youths, widows and the indigent residents across all the five divisions of the state.

 
The commissioner revealed that WAPA would also start exposing its trainees to the use of technology and also enlighten women on newer practices in vocational training, considering the effects of COVID-19 and the need to adapt with the new normal within the digital space. 

Speaking at a press briefing commemorating the second year in office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, she said: “In view of this, there will be training of 500 women on entrepreneurial and digital marketing techniques come June 2021, as part of plans to mark this year’s International Widows’ Day.
 
“In addition, WAPA is equally expanding the scope of activities with a view to creating more avenues for our women to leverage on professional platform. That is why 5,780 participants were incorporated into our mega empowerment initiative so that through their productivity, they can also contribute to the increase in GDP of Lagos State.”
 
On the training programmes by the ministry, the commissioner stated that there had been positive feedbacks on all the programmes offered at its skills acquisition centres, either short-term, medium – term and long – term empowerment initiatives on different skills, stressing that graduate trainees from the centres are now contributing to economic growth of the state as employers of labour.

 
She added that a total of 3,337 adults also benefited from the intervention health programmes, initiated by WAPA. While enumerating the ministry’s participatory economic feat, the commissioner recounted that 700 women attended the ‘ WAPA CONNECT’ programme, with another 300 participants engaged in ‘Entrepreneurial and Professional Conference’ targeted at economic independence for the beneficiaries.
 
Recalling the involvement of WAPA in the production of Personal Protective Equipment like facemasks during the early period of COVID-19 outbreak, Dada stated that WAPA harnessed resources to support the public with production of 500,000 Personal Protective Equipment produced at the skills acquisition centres by trainees. 
 
She stated that several other thousands of beneficiaries, emerged from its various other programmes like training of women farmers in cassava and maize, snail rearing and grass- cutter breeding, among others, engagement of women on good parenting about societal vices and domestic issues as well as social grants targeted at widows and many more, emphasising that WAPA is truly committed to empowerment, and protection of women, through programmes targeted at economic growth.

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