Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Monday urged the youth in the state to acquire vocational skills to tackle the challenges of poverty and unemployment and become productive citizens.
The governor made this statement at a vocational training program organized by the Chief Executive Officer of De’rayo Vocational Limited, Aminat Aderayo Animasaun, in collaboration with the state government to mark the 2024 World Youth Skills Day, held at the Amphitheatre, Racecourse, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde, represented at the event by the Chairman of the Oyo State Agency for Youth, Hon. Falana Adebayo, lauded the initiative, which he said complements the state government’s efforts at job creation to reduce the unemployment rate among the youth.
“I must confess, it is a laudable event seeing the youth of the state come together to learn one or two skills organized by De’rayo.
“Coming here and seeing this, I was amazed. The passion in them boosts my morale, and from the government angle, we are ready to do more of this often so that we can impact more lives through one skill or another.
“My message to the youth is that after graduating from school, instead of seeking white-collar jobs, everyone must have one or two skills that will serve as a foundation for their financial strength.
With the way the economy is going, they should not rely on white-collar jobs alone.
“I am imploring the youth out there to participate en masse in subsequent skill acquisition programs like this,” he said.
The initiator of the program and CEO of De’rayo Vocational Limited, Aminat Aderayo Animasaun, said over 400 participants were trained in 28 vocational skills, including textile design, shoemaking, makeup and Gele tying, bead making, cosmetology, fashion design, digital marketing, barbing, hairdressing, and photography, among others.
“We are here to celebrate vocational skills. Today is July 15, 2024, World Youth Skills Day, which is recognized by the United Nations and celebrated all over the world.
“We are representing our community, Oyo State, and Ibadan, and are happy to host the youth from different local governments. We are training them in 28 different vocational skills.
“We are not only training them; we are inspiring, mentoring, and linking them to trainers to become great leaders in the field of vocational skills.”
She announced that scholarships for vocational training will be given to 105 youth across the local governments in the state for a six-month vocational training program, after which they will be empowered.
“This is our sixth edition, and I am delighted to host over 400 participants. We planned for 400, but we have exceeded that number.”
Animasaun, while appreciating the support of the state Agency for Youth Development and trainers, urged the youth to see vocational skills as a way of life, adding, “You can become a shoemaker and achieve great success in life.”
One of the volunteers and trainers, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Abisal Megatop Limited, Saidat Dauda, said participants were trained on how to turn local crops into finished products such as flour and how to market them and showcase themselves to the community.
She advised the beneficiaries to upgrade their vocational skills and put them to use for the betterment of society.
In their remarks, some of the trainees, Adeniran Bayonle and Tomorrow Hasan, described the program as enlightening, urging the youth to acquire vocational skills to become useful citizens.
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