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The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), has flagged-off the second phase of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative, in Bayelsa.
Director-General of the NDE, Hon. Silas Agara, stated this in Yenagoa midweek during the flag off ceremony, saying the Directorate made significant strides in fulfilling its mandate of employment generation in Nigeria.
National Wire Source gathered that the initiative which was launched on December 6th 2024 had 32,692 unskilled and unemployed Nigerians successfully trained in demand driven skills across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Represented by the State Coordinator, Mrs Jones-Kekebou Ebimete, the NDE’s boss said the strategic goals were increasing trainees employability, supporting small-scale enterprises, promoting agricultural productive, improving rural infrastructure and providing jobs.
He said: “A total of 5,532 beneficiaries were resettled with loans and starter packs while linkages to credit granting institutions for those that could not be accommodated under our soft loan scheme is ongoing. As we reflect on the achievements of the first phase of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative, I am excited that the second phase of the RHEI is being flagged off today.
“In the second phase, the NDE will train 41,307 persons in over 30 different skills set which range from vocational, entrepreneurial, agricultural, ICT and activities in the public works sector.
“I am proud to state that arising from the experiences of the first phase, we have improved and digitized our processes through a robust online registration portal fully equipped with scalable backend and geofenced capabilities”.
“This has made our process more transparent, fair equitable as well as providing us with a credible database. The trainees were drawn from the 36 states of the federation, including FCT.
“A minimum of four persons were drawn from each of the 8,809 electoral wards in Nigeria to further ensure inclusivity. A total number of 14,457 beneficiaries will get stater packs to help them establish themselves in their chosen fields”.
He explained that NDE despite the challenges of limited budgetary resources remains committed to equipping unemployed Nigerians with demand driven skill sets, in order to become employers of labour and wealth creators.
On his part, Engr. Okehielam Nwosu, Chief Training Officer, and Head Of Department, Vocational Skills Development, urged the beneficiaries to invest wisely rather than misappropriating the loans given to them or selling of their starter packs
He also appealed to the trainees to take the training acquired seriously so ad to be self-employed for the betterment of their future.
In his presentation, Mr Obuza Kingpory, master trainer, said that the skill building and skill development is very important in the society today, urging youths to create employment for themselves and provide food for their household and the society at large.
In his remarks, a beneficiary, Mr Timi Ebimie, commended the federal government for the initiative which he said was aimed at bettering the lives of the Nigerian youths.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Hon. Saturday Omiloli represented by Mrs Weasley Saturday, urged the beneficiaries to take the training serious and be timely conscious as they start their training workshop, noting that all skills were very important to human beings in the society.
