* Also, Begins Training Of 75 Unemployed Youths On Environpreneurship Development
By Nahum Sule (Taraba State Correspondent, in Jalingo)
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), on Tuesday, flagged-off the training of 60 unemployed youths on environmental beautification training scheme (EBTS) in Taraba state.
The State Coordinator of the Directorate, Alhaji Danjuma Shehu, noted during the event in Jalingo, that the exercise was to provide self-employment and self-reliance amongst the youths.
According to the coordinator, the training was targeted at creating a pool of entreprenuers that will become employers of labour, create a decent job through training and development of landscaping services from design to installation.
"This training is also targeted to reduce restiveness among the unemployed youths and create a sustainable employment and wealth creation. The Environmental Beautification Training Scheme is designed for the training of unemployed persons to acquire professional skills in environmental beautification, sanitation and protection. The scheme comprises of Hardland-scaping, Softland-scaping and Plaster of Paris (POP).
"We have repositioned to embark on the empowerment of these trainees after they graduate from the EBTS training to constitute the skills acquired in order to facilitate self-employment and self-reliance", he explained.
Responding on behalf of the participants, Miss Matina Ngukuran Kuma, assured that they would pay much attention to the training to become professionals in the environmental beautification practice. She also thanked NDE for the gesture and promised to make the directorate proud by becoming an employers of labour.
In a related development, the NDE has equally flagged-off the training of no fewer than 75 unemployed persons, engaging them in Environpreneur Development Scheme (EDS) that focuses on environmental problems and accommodates societal in Taraba State.
During the orientation programme at Camp Lavet hotel in Jalingo, the state capital, the NDE Director General, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, said Environprenuership Development is about bringing market principles to resolve environmental problems, and encourages Market-Based solutions to environmental problems by educating environmentalists, principles of economics and market.
Fikpo who was represented by the Taraba state coordinator, Alhaji Danjuma Shehu, said the programme is aimed at improving the environmental sustainability and the social contribution to the society.
According to him, participants in the environpreneurship development scheme would be trained on block moulding, laying of interlock, tiles laying, plaster of Paris (POP) and raising of nurseries/flowers for a period of three months.
In his words, “The main objectives of the scheme is to reduce unemployment among youth by providing "on-the-job training in Enviroprenuership Development. Provide entrepreneurship skills training to interested unemployed youths and persons through various workshops on recycling existing waste materials/resources, which, will, in turn, benefits the present and future generations”.
He further stated that it is proposed that prospective participants who have interest in the scheme are qualified to participate, including both university graduates, NCE holders, diploma holders and school leavers.
A beneficiary, Hajara Aliyu, thanked the Federal Government for selecting them to be part of the exercise and promised to make judicious use of any resources given. NNL.