RSG, German Firm Plan Vocational Training For Youths

The Rivers State Government has signed an agreement with a German company, Zentralstella Fur Die Weiterbildung in Handwerk (ZWH) for vocational skills training of youth of the state.

Commissioner for Education, Hon Alice Lawrence-Nemi said the step was part of the economic reform agenda of the present administration in the state with respect to employment creation, in its desire to collaborate with the private sector towards improving the vocational skills and competence of its indigenes.

She stated this last Friday during the agreement  signing in the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Port Harcourt, adding that the training would empower the youth vocationally to be self- employed and employable by employers of labour.

She disclosed that the training would cover such areas as fashion design, hairdressing and cosmetics, construction, covering, bricklaying, sanitary/plumber, electrical, tiling, stucco plastering, as well as metal work, woodwork and heavy duty vehicle mechanic knowledge.

Dame Lawrence-Nemi, who credited the initiative to the Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi, whom she described as a visionary leader, noted that the programme was for  children who have completed their West African Examination Council and obtained the results.

Noting that the six-year a contract would be in phases, the education commissioner explained that ZWH would Rivers State Government shall be responsible for general supervision of the programme.

“ZWH, being a central agency for continuing vocational education and training in the skilled craft and  a German vocational training institute shall be the lead partner, coordinating the various technical training bodies, specialised and independent institutions in the execution of the programme”, she said.

The commissioner further stated that having made tremendous efforts on education, generally, the state government was determined to focus ion technical or vocational training in the state, and would revive the technical schools in the state.

She said the government  Craft Development Centre along Aba Road and the Government Technical School in Trans-Amadi would soon experience improved activities.

The education commissioner later took the foreign partners round a Port Harcourt Primary School, which she said would transform to a technical or vocational centre.

The President of ZWH, Dirk Palige who described the state as an emerging state, commended the present administration for its foresight in focusing on vocational training of its indigenes.

He said the contract was a big challenge that would yield huge benefits to citizens of the state, and expressed confidence of the firm to live up to its bidding.

Mr Palige revealed that the training programme would be partnered in accordance with the German standards with provisions to accommodate local conditions and assured that the contract would benefit both Nigeria and Germany.

Chris Oluoh

L-R: World Bank Executive Director, Dr Mansur Muhtar, Director-General, Budget Office, Dr Bright Okogu and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at a news briefing on the on-going spring meeting of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington DC last Friday.