Correspondent in Minna, Ilorin
As white-collar jobs in Nigeria become scarcer, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) says it has commenced the training of 50 unemployed graduates on Start Your Own Business (SYOB) under Small Scale Enterprises (SSE), to be self employed in Niger state.
The Director General of NDE, Malam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the training programme in Minna, adding that 1,850 beneficiaries were simultaneously involved in the training across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, Abuja.
Represented by an SME Officer, Chika Joy Eze, Abubakar advised participants to take the training seriously to be among employers of Labour rather than waiting for white color jobs that are not readily available.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Niger State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Alhaji Bala Ibrahim, applauded NDE for its sustainable Programme, training youths and women and assured of the state’s continuous partnership.
The Niger State Coordinator of the programne, Alhaji Abubakar Abdulmalik Liman, explained that beneficiaries were selected from the 25 local government areas without favour, noting that the only prerequirement is that they most be graduates.
Some of the beneficiaries such as Nathaniel John and Rukaiyat Abubakar, in separate interview, promised to be good ambassadors of NDE, their families and the country at large in their respective areas of interest.
In similar vein, NDE has also trained 50 unemployed graduates in Kwara state, on how to start and run their private businesses.
Speaking during the flag-off of the five-day entrepreneurship development programme in Ilorin on Monday, the Kwara state coordinator of the NDE, Engineer Aba Timothy Omochoko, advised the beneficiaries of the programme to take family and friends away from their businesses, in order to succeed.
The NDE coordinator, who said that the beneficiaries were selected out of 500 applicants from the three senatorial districts of the state, added that the participants at the workshop would be given start-up loan package on their chosen businesses after the training.
He also said that the beneficiaries should be free to approach the directorate after their training on areas of challenges for necessary assistance.
Omochoko, who said that the participants should employ packaging in their businesses, added that they should operate their businesses differently from the way unlettered people do theirs, to ensure business edge.
He also said that white collar jobs had become elusive, adding that graduates no longer expect to look for office work, since private entrepreneurs are making waves.
The NDE coordinator, who cited examples of graduate moin-moin (bean cake) and kulinkuli (groundnut cake) entrepreneurs, said that packaging given to their businesses had helped to give them the edge when compared with traditional sellers of the commodities.
He also advised the beneficiaries to go into partnership of two or three to ensure better productivity and success, adding that they should use their money well to conquer poverty, stressing that impact of their knowledge and experience would make them excel better when harnessed.
Also speaking, the deputy director, small scale enterprises department of the NDE, Mrs. Folashade Lanre-Ogun, said that the participants were trained on motivation for becoming business entrepreneurs, how to generate business ideas, planning businesses, staffing, and how to write bankable feasibility report.
The NDE coordinator, who said that the beneficiaries were selected out of 500 applicants from the three senatorial districts of the state, added that the participants at the workshop would be given start-up loan package on their chosen businesses after the training programme.
He also said that the beneficiaries should be free to approach the directorate after their training on areas of challenges for necessary assistance.
Omochoko, who said that the participants should employ packaging in their businesses, added that they should operate their businesses differently from the way unlettered people do theirs to ensure business edge.
He also said that white collar jobs had become elusive, adding that graduates are no longer expected to look for office work, since private entrepreneurs are making waves.
The NDE coordinator, who sited examples of graduate moin-moin (bean cake) and kulinkuli (groundnut cake) entrepreneurs, said that packaging given to their businesses had helped to give them the edge when compared with traditional sellers of the commodities.
He also advised the beneficiaries to go into partnership of two or three to ensure better productivity and success, adding that they should use their money well to conquer poverty, stressing that impact of their knowledge and experience would make them excel better when harnessed.
Also speaking, the deputy director, small scale enterprises department of the NDE, Mrs. Folashade Lanre-Ogun, said that participants were trained on motivation for becoming business entrepreneurs, how to generate business ideas, planning businesses, staffing, and how to write bankable feasibility report.
