Varsity Trains 7000 In Entrepreneurial Skills

The Centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Research (CEDR) of the University of Nigeria in Nsukka (UNN), trained 7,000 persons in various entrepreneurial skills between 2008 and 2011.

The Deputy Registrar of the centre, Mrs Obi Nwala,  disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at the on-going 23rd Enugu International Trade Fair.

She said that the beneficiaries included traders, undergraduates, unemployed graduates, retired and about-to-retire workers.

The registrar said that the beneficiaries were trained on various business skills such as financial management, leadership, entrepreneurship, book keeping, writing of business plans and sourcing for loans.

She said that the centre, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), would also train 5,000 persons in various business skills.

Nwala said that the training would last for 18 months.

“The aim is to get the unemployed off the streets and make them entrepreneurs, thereby reducing poverty and attain the Millennium Development Goals,” she said.

Nwala said that the centre would hold workshops on ‘Ecopreneurship’, to sensitise the business public about the effects of businesses on the environment.

Ecopreneurship refers to businesses that deplete or affect the environment through emissions, effluents, and chemicals.

Nwala said that the “2012 Earth Day’’ would be marked on April 24 and that the event would focus on activities capable of reducing carbon emissions, improving waste management and maintaining clean and green environment.

The deputy registrar urged governments at all levels to partner with the centre to train the youths on entrepreneurial skills.

She advised parents to encourage their children to attend such training in order to enhance their business skills and reduce the quest for white collar jobs.