Group Urges Skills Acquisition Scheme For Youths

The Society for Youth Research in Nigeria (SYRN), has called
on governments at all levels to introduce a systematic skill acquisition
programme for youth through the Seed Capital Provision scheme.

This is contained in a statement signed by SYRN’s Executive
Director, Mr Olawale Rasheed, in Abuja last Saturday.

Rasheed said in the statement that the scheme for Seed
Capital Provision could be achieved through community banks.

He said that such skills would include trade skills after
which the trained youth could set themselves up and employ other fellow youths.

He said that SYRN wanted the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC) to expand the current agricultural entrepreneurial programme for some
corps members.

The success recorded in the implementation of the
agricultural entrepreneurial programme could provide useful lessons for skill
training in other sectors of the economy, he said.

“As the world celebrates the International Youth Day on Aug.
12, there is an urgent need for government to holistically address the
unemployment challenges through massive training and re-training of unemployed
graduates and other category of youth.

“This appears to be the only way out of the unemployment
crisis as government alone cannot employ the millions of unemployed youths
across the nation.’’

Rasheed said, “skill training will easily dovetail into the
economy when the current investment in power, agriculture, road revival and
other infrastructure manifest.

“For the transformation agenda to be meaningful, there must
be a re-focus on job recreation.”