The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) has commenced the training of 90 unemployed youths in fashion, leather work and hair dressing in Taraba State.
Director General of the agency, Mr Olawale Fasanya, said this at the opening of the National Business Skills Development Initiative (NBSDI) programme in Jalingo on Monday.
He said the programme is aimed at supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in a most practical way.
Fasanya, who was represented by the Head of Enterprises in the agency, Dr Funto Babarinde, said the agency had developed the programme to provide entrepreneurship skills, vocational skills, and the provision of empowerment materials to fill the capacity gap of the youths.
He also said the programme was designed to enhance youths engagement in productive ventures, adding that the initiatives will bequeath the youth with the capacity to earn income through filling the artisan gap in Nigeria.
According to him, the programme had been implemented in all the states of the federation, including the FCT, and that a total of 3,330 entrepreneurs had been impacted with entrepreneurship skills, vocational skills and empowerment equipment at the rate of 90 per state and the FCT.
The Director General said the agency expected improved business management practices, adding that improved service provision by the trained artisans would also be achieved.
He said there would be an increase in finance, equipment and other business resources, as well as formalised artisanal businesses.
Fasanya advised participants to take the training serious, saying it is a window of opportunities to end poverty and unemployment.
A participant, Mr Solomon Musa, said the training would go a long way in impacting positively in the lives of the Nigerian youths.
He commended the Federal Government for the initiative.

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced a five-day Women Employment Branch (WEB) empowerment training for 20 selected women in bag and shoe making in Nasarawa State.
The State NDE Coordinator, Mr Chris Bamsida, said this at the opening of the training orientation ceremony in Lafia on Monday.
Bamsida described the scheme as the emergent and trending trade among women across the federation.
“Today marks a turning point in the aspirations of the beneficiaries as they will be trained in the skills of making various categories of shoes and palm slippers for both male and female, and bags such as laptop bags, school bags, back pack, food warmer bag and handbags.
“The training will last for five days, from Monday 27th to 31st March, 2023, from 9 a.m to 3 p.m daily”, he said.
According to him, the scheme is targeted at unemployed women who have vested interest in the skills.
“The scheme is designed to achieve the following objectives: to train beneficiaries in emergent and trending skills in the art of shoe and bag making; reduce their dependency on other people, thereby reducing poverty; and raising income generation and redistribution among the people.
“It will also mprove the living standard of the beneficiaries and their families”, he said.
Bamsida stated that professionals were engaged to impact the best knowledge to the beneficiaries during the exercise.
He urged the beneficiaries to abide by the rules and regulations guiding the training by exhibiting high level of commitment and discipline to ensure that the goals of the training are achieved.
The State Coordinator warned against truancy, adding, “I expect to see you as future trainers of these skills at the end of the training.
“This will not only enable you to provide jobs for others, but will enhance your contributions toward improving the standard of living in our homes and the society at large”, he said.
Bamsida also disclosed that the directorate in collaboration with National Drug Lew Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) would sensitise the beneficiaries on the effects and dangers of drug abuse during the training.
He called on the State Government, individuals and NGOs to key in and collaborate with the directorate to eliminate the “monster” called “unemployment and poverty” in the state.
Bamsida thanked the Governor of the State, Abdullahi Sule, for creating an enabling environment for the directorate to achieve its objectives in the state.
The Head of Department, Small Scale Enterprises (SSE), NDE, Abuja, Ms Chikodi IKe, also commended the Director General for initiating different programmes in tackling unemployment in the country.
Ike, who was represented by Mr Umar Aliyu, a staff from NDE headquarters, Abuja, urged the beneficiaries to use the knowledge they will gain to contribute positively to the development of the society.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Maryam Yahaya, thanked NDE for the gesture and promised to take the training seriously.

Some traders in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed delight over improvement in the availability of naira notes to citizens.
The Tide source reports that many markets in Abuja, on Monday, returned to normal daily business activities as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected more naira notes to the commercial banks.
A meat seller, Alhaji Audu Ali, said since the naira scarcity started, business had not been good, adding that most days he had no meat to sell due to the development.
“We use cash to buy the cows from the sellers because most of them do not believe in cash transfers or have no bank accounts.
“Many people coming to buy from us always do transfers and this makes it difficult for us to buy from the sellers, who usually demand for cash before they sell to us”, Ali said.
He, however, said since Saturday, patronage with cash had gotten better, adding that it had become easier for everyone to do his/her transaction with cash.
A civil servant, Mrs Ella Aminu, expressed happiness, saying it is now easy for her to get cash from her bank to buy food items, unlike before.
“Lots of citizens had suffered during the period of cash scarcity, as many vendors preferred to do their businesses in cash.
“Again, Point of Sale (POS) operators in the market always charge interest per vendor. How much are the salaries of these buyers who are majorly civil servants?”, he queried.
Aminu said in view of the situation, many of the POS operators took advantage of the naira scarcity to make outrageous profits from their customers.
She, however, commended the Federal Government for obeying the Supreme Court judgment extending the use of old naira notes as a legal tender till December 31.
A vegetable seller, Mallam Usman Baba, said he only made little money since the beginning of naira scarcity.
“Most of my vegetables perished, as I experienced low patronage from my customers. But, with the recent development, everything is getting better”, he said.
Recall that the CBN had, in October 2022, announced the redesigning of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.