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An eleven-year-old, Master Abundant Okafor was among the 52 students trained as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) graduated participants at its Human Capital Development Centre (HCDC), Apapa, Lagos 15th December.
Okafor, a JS2 student of Radiant High School, Ajegunle, Apapa, Lagos said his parents supported him to enroll during the two month summer holiday.
“I applied so I could use my summer holiday to learn an extra-curricular activity which continued after the holiday,” he said, advising parents to allow their children have vocational training.
“Parents should allow their children to have vocational skills that can help them later in life. I was trained in pattern drafting and it is going to be useful for me. Education should not only be about formal training.”
The Regional Coordinator of the NEPC (South West, Lagos) Mr. Babatunde Faleke in his remark appreciated the efforts of the instructors.
Faleke, represented by Head of Admin & HR, NEPC, Lagos, Mrs. Bolanle Emmanuel said, “I sincerely congratulate the graduating students for completing the course of study with the internationally recognised professional trainers.”
Speaking further, he said, “We cannot but recognize the able instructors who have demonstrated professionalism and a high sense of duty.
“Mrs. Sola Babatunde, the Creative Director of One Stop Celebrations College (OSCC) and Pattern Designer, Mrs. Ituen-Bassey have performed well in training 52 students being celebrated here today.”
He however advised the graduating students to collaborate on production. “Production in a factory setting is capital intensive, I advise that you form synergies among yourselves by putting resources together, decide and focus on a line of product to make large volume production for export,” he advised.
Co-sponsored by the Nigerian Industrial Training Fund, the garment manufacturing and pattern drafting courses produced 37 professional Machinists and 15 Pattern Makers.
Consultant of the NEPC Garment Training Center, Mrs. Omoyemi Akerele also congratulated the graduating students for successfully going through the rigours of the training.
“I must congratulate our students graduating today for their interest and efforts invested in this exercise,” she said.
Akerele, who is also the Creative Director of Style House Files, added that, “Your commitment has yielded good result and I trust that you would go on and improve on what you have learnt to improve the economy.”
Special Guest of Honour at the ceremony, Mrs. Samuel, a Director at the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), also representing the co-sponsor of the training program, Nigerian Industrial Training Fund at the event wished the grandaunts well in their future endeavours.
The HCDC has earlier trained a set of students earlier in the year and the December graduates are the second set trained in 2017.
