NDE Trains 690 Rivers Indigenes On Apprenticeship Scheme

As part of its concerted efforts to proffer solutions to the economic challenges in the country, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), has commenced the training of 690 persons, including males and females drawn from the 23 local government areas of Rivers State under the Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS)and the Advanced National Open Apprenticeship scheme (A-NOAS) in the state .
The scheme, which is currently going on across the 36 states and Abuja, is targeted at making more Nigerians self-reliant and independent in order to contribute their individual quotas to efforts to revamp the nation’s deteriorating economy.
Speaking at the flag-off of the pivotal two schemes in Port Harcourt over the weekend, the Director General of NDE,Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, represented by the state Co-ordinator of NDE, Mrs Maureen Okeji, said the programme would last for three months, adding that the trainees would receive stipends during the period.
Fikpo told the trainees that the Federal Government attached great importance to the schemes, and urged them to minimise the opportunity given them and attach seriousness to the training, adding that any participant who betrayed the rules of engagement would be disciplined.
“Let me tell you all that the leadership of NDE is serious with the programme, and not because the programme is free and you take it for granted .If you become skilled and self-reliant, there is no way you will go hungry after this training. So, therefore, take the training seriously”, he stated.
Also speaking, the NDE Director incharge of Vocational Skill Development (VSD), Alhaji Abdul Isa, advised the trainees to pay more attention during the three months’ exercise in other to acquire relevant skills that would make them self-dependent and also become employers of labour in the country.
Represented on the occasion by Ebifemere Ekesak Umor, Isa averred that the expectations of the agency were that at the end of the programme, they should be fulfilled men and women, even as he commended the management of the NDE in the state for keeping pace with the policies of the agency.
In his remark, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Babatunde Adetunji, who was represented by Senior Production Officer, National Productivity Centre, Mr Onyeka Ebegu, called on the trainees to put in their best efforts, saying that for them to achieve their goals in the training, they most put in their best and time.
He opined that the training exercise was a stepping stone for their future greatness, and thanked the NDE for their efforts in reducing unemployment and improve the living standards of the less privileged in the country.
Responding on behalf of the trainees, Mrs Chris Benjamin Uche, thanked the NDE for the opportunity given them, and assured that they would justify the huge opportunity and keep the flag flying higher.

By: Akujobi Amadi