The Delta State Chief Job
Creation Officer, Professor Eric Eboh, has charged prospective trainers under the state government’s job creation programmes including the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP) and Graduate Employment Enhancement Programme (GEEP) not to bring the name of the State Government to disrepute.
Eboh, who stated this during a meeting with the trainers in Asaba recently also released the rules of engagement to the prospective trainers, ahead of the second phase of the employment and entrepreneural programmes, in line with the policy objectives of the Delta state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.
At the meeting, which was largely interactive, the Chief Job Creation Officer, advised trainers to hencefoth desist from colluding with trainees to play truancy in the programme and frowned at such tendencies, which he said could lead to the delisting of culpable trainers and suspension of defaulting trainees from the programme.
He however said that a new yardstick for admitting trainees into the programmes is the signing of a bond agreement with the state government by the trainees, to shut out hoodlums with intents to truncate the programme, which he said has gulped a lot of funds from the Governor Okowa- led government.
He said the exercise was the sole vision of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to ensure delivery of first rate job creation programme that would produce entrepreneurs, managers and leaders from the population of unemployed youths in Delta Sate.
According to Eboh, “The successful trainees and beneficiaries from these programmes will help drive the economic diversification of Delta state.”
He therefore said the job creation scheme is underpinned by core values of integrity, transparency, inclusiveness, credibility, partnership and quality service delivery, as contained in the state governor’s charge to the Job Creation Office.
On their part, the trainers lauded the efforts of the Chief Job Creation Officer in actualization of the vision of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Also members of the Independent Monitoring and Evaluation Groups for STEP and YAGEP, who were selected on the basis of their personal integrity, gave their own assessment.
In their opinion, the programme has been a huge success as the trainers opened their doors wide for the trainees to gain full knowledge of their chosen enterprises.