Nigeria : The Minister for Youths and Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalung, has applauded the launch of the National Employability Skill Development and Internship Programme (NESDIP) by the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) which he hoped will train fresh and unemployed graduates with contemporary skills and competency required to function productively.
Dalung, who gave the commendation at the launch of NESDIP in Lagos, said the initiative will assist hitherto unemployed youths with training capable of making them functional in the 21st century work place.
The Minister, who was represented by Simon Oduyebo, lamented that the challenge of unemployment is major issue confronting Nigerian youths arising from factors ranging from the mismatch between skills gained from formal education, employee requirements, and the inability of the economy to generate adequate jobs to absorb new entrant into the labour market.
“The skill development training for youths is one of the strategies of developing and deepening the employability skills of youths. A major focus of the Nigerian youth’s employment action plan is the evaluation of a framework that incorporates a multi-stakeholder approach with the Federal Ministry of Youth as the coordinating agency.
I do appreciate the management of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) for this gesture,” Dalung said.
The NOUN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdallauba Adamu, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joy Eyisi described the NESDIP as an initiative aimed at giving fresh and unemployed graduates the soft skills required in the labour market.
“The essence of the workshop is to partner with the Federal Government, to equip our graduates towards processing the necessary skills that will help them to rise and shine in any work establishment of their choice, as the noblest search is the search for excellence,” the NOUN Vice Chancellor said.
The Director, Centre for Human Resource Development (CHRD), Prof. Grace Jonathan, explained that the training programme will be scheduled for three weeks which will be followed by the internship. The internship is said to be for the next 90 days.
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