In furtherance of its commitment to build capacity and upskill youths whilst empowering unemployed and underemployed persons in the state, the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) under its skills acquisition scheme, the Lagos State Employability Support Project (LSESP), has graduated 140 trainees following the successful completion of their skills acquisition programme.
The beneficiaries were trained under the pilot phase of the Skills Development for Youth Employment (SKYE) Programme, an initiative of the Deutsche Gesellschaft for Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ),a development agency of the German Government in partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). With an objective to reduce illegal migration of Nigerian youth, the Project was targeted at 140 potential migrants (including voluntary returnees from the European Union) residing in Lagos.
The beneficiaries successfully completed a rigorous vocational and technical training designed to equip them with relevant skills in order to improve their prospects of gaining economic independence. The programme focused on skills development in the critical and vibrant industries in Lagos, such as Construction, Fashion, Health & Beauty, Hospitality, Creative & Arts and Media & Entertainment sectors. Out of the 140 graduate trainees, 61% make up the female gender. The beneficiaries of the program, so far, comprise 89% of potential migrants and 11% of voluntary returnees; having qualifications ranging from JSSCE to Tertiary degrees.
During the graduation ceremony of the beneficiaries held at Adeyemi Bero Hall, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, the graduate trainees were presented with globally renowned certifications following their successful completion of the skills acquisition programme.
Commenting, the Acting Executive Secretary of the LSETF, Mrs. Teju Abisoye, who was represented by Mr. Rahman Akinwonmi, Director, Finance and Corporate Services, LSETF, said “We are very pleased to have witnessed a very successful first outcome of this initiative, in which the LSETF and the GIZ join forces in their shared mission of up-skilling the capacity of thousands of youths in Lagos to make them globally competitive to gain sustainable employment and be dissuaded from embarking on the dangerous illegal migration to Europe. We believe that when our youth are equipped with the right skills to take advantage of any employment or entrepreneurial opportunities in the State, they would be confident and hopeful of staying in the country to realise their dreams and not join many who take dangerous journeys in search of better economic conditions.
“While I congratulate the successful trainees, we also use this occasion to send our sincere gratitude to the organisations that have immediately placed 28% of the trainees in their employment. This has further strengthened our resolve to reach more young people, building their skills and position them for a future of rewarding and personal fulfillment”, he added.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Abidemi Raji, stated that, “This partnership stems out of the deliberate employment intervention policies made by Lagos state which showcases our commitment to capacity building, entrepreneurship, empowerment and sustainable youth development. We are optimistic that this collaboration will achieve all the agreed KPIs and milestones, thus impacting greatly in tackling unemployment.”
Also speaking at the graduation ceremony, Team Leader, GIZ, Tobias Wolfgarten added that “We are here on behalf of the German government, partnering with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund to develop the youths with relevant skills and also going further to placing them in jobs. We believe strongly that this will help in providing these youths with competitive advantage in this dynamic world”.
