NDE Trains 389 Youths In Basic Skills

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Kogi State has selected 389 youths to  undergo training in basic skills acquisition and rural agricultural development scheme.

Mr Nnamdi Asomugha, the Coordinator of the directorate in the state, made the announcement on Wednesday in  Lokoja during an orientation course for the trainees.

He said that 100 of the 389 participants would be trained in Rural Agricultural Development Training Scheme  (RADTS), while the rest 289 were for the Basic Skills Acquisition Training Scheme (B-SATS).

Asomugha said the youths were selected from more than 10,000 youths registered for the programme, stressing  that the schemes were part of the strategies to address the challenges of unemployment.

“The modus operandi of B-SATS,” he said, “is to attach them to master trainers in vocational trades such as carpentry,  mechanics, tailoring, hair-dressing, vulcanizing, electronics and many others for a period of three to six months.”

“Trainees of the RADTS,” he added, “will be trained in batches of 50 youths each in Lokoja and Imela, in Yagba  East Local Government Area of the state for one or two years.

Asomugha said more than 25,000 youths had so far benefited from the B-SATS, noting that the directorate disbursed N150,000 loans to each of the 30 trainers for capacity upgrading, while tools and equipment were distributed to several others to enable them to set up their workshops. Hajia Zainab Idris, wife of the state governor, advised the participants to be focused, diligent and take the training seriously to enable them to be self-reliant, create wealth and employ others. Mrs Kehinde Joel, The Director of Bewake Leather Works Ltd, and also a former trainee of NDE in leatherworks, urged the trainees to be disciplined, focused and obedient to their trainers, saying: “As you make your beds, so you will lie on them.’’