Business
UNDP Graduates 513 Trainees On Vocational Skills
An Italian-based Voca
tional Centre, Apurimac Onlus in Collaboration with the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), recently in Jos graduated over 513 trainees in various vocational skills.
The beneficiaries were trained in hairdressing, tailoring, knitting, catering & decorations, GSM repair, shoe- making, and leather work as well as computer.
The UNDP sponsored 149 out of the 513 trainees with the support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abuja.
The 149 trainees, who successfully completed a six-month skills training, were victims of conflicts in Plateau, whose source of livelihood had been affected due to the crisis.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony for the trainees in Jos, the Country Director of UNDP, Dr Pa-Lamin Beyai, said the organisation had been working with its partners to support the victims.
He said that the project was an intervention of the organisation, under its livelihoods support scheme funded by the Government of Norway.
According to him, the project is another UNDP’s efforts to cushion the impact of conflicts on the population in Plateau.
“The scheme attempts to empower these 149 persons including widows, female, and child headed households; youth, and women in seven vocational skill areas.
“ The scheme has the ultimate objective of promoting sustainable peace, social cohesion, and religious tolerance among the beneficiaries and by extension, the residents of Plateau State.
“We are happy about the good report from the Centre that despite their differences in age, social and religious backgrounds, the beneficiaries have related very well with one another throughout the training.
“We encourage them to continue after graduation, and be peace ambassadors in their communities,’’ he said.
The country director said that as part of the overall support package, each graduate was given take-off equipment grant worth N50, 000 for the trade areas.
“The computer graduates are given N100, 000 worth of equipment each.