As part of moves
towards tackling unemployment in the country, an industrialist, Engineer Charles Odike, has urged the Federal Government to properly implement operational guidelines for skills upgrading and vocational training centres across the country.
Odike, an industrial engineer by training, who made this known while interacting with The Tide in Port Harcourt, noted that many youths are unemployed because they are not properly skilled or trained.
He opined that if skills upgrading and vocational training guidelines are properly implemented, that it will assist to reduce poverty and social menace, as well as promote self-reliance among Nigerian youth.
Recounting his experience on youths skills training while in Michelin in Port Harcourt, before venturing into other fabrication business, Odike said some of the people they trained are doing well and have employed other people to work for them.
According to him, such was achievable because Michelin as a company then had operational guideline for training, including basic knowledge in safety and health, productivity improvement and management skills among others, apart from the technical training skills.
He said, “this move will have positive multiplier effect on growth and development of the national economy. It will create wealth and provide decent jobs to relieve governments at all levels from youths restiveness and crises, if such is implemented properly.”
It would be recalled that the Federal Government through the ministry of labour and productivity on February 6th, 2015 launched operational guidelines for skills upgrading and vocational training centres across the six geo-political zones of the country.
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Clement Illo, had said that the operational guidelines were developed as manual documents to guide the operations of the skill upgrading and training centres.

Corlins Walter