UNDP, EU Partner BOSG To Train 600 Youths and Women on Vocational Skills

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and European Union (EU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Borno State Government (BOSG) to train 600 youths and women in various vocational skills as part of the UNDP/EU Livelihood Support Programme designed to develop and improve livelihood of youths and women that have been affected by the boko Haram Insurgency with a view to cushion their hardships and sufferings as well make them self reliant and entrepreneurs as well as employers of labour in their rights.

The youths which were matriculated in two days, Monday and Tuesday, at the Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri Umar El Kanemi Conference Hall and Mohammed Lawan College of Agriculture Conference Hall were said to have been selected from all the 27 LGAs of the state .

The training is expected to last for a period of three to four months under intensive training and monitoring as well as series of tests as the training was sub divided into categories where 300 youths and women will be trained at Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, 200 beneficiaries will be trained at Mohammed Lawan College of Agriculture Maiduguri and 100 youths and women will be trained at the Nigerian Institute of Leather Studies Kaduna and Abuja respectively.

According to Head, of Sub Office, UNDP, Mizuho Yokoi , the training programme will cover areas like aluminium fabrication, baking, carpentry, catering & decoration, furniture, GSM repairs, knitting, hair dressing and tailoring .

Others include mechanic & fabrication, auto mobile, auto painting and spraying, auto welding, auto mechanic, auto mobile technology, cattle fattening, crop production, fish production, livestock production, nursery and landscaping, soap making, TYE and DYE, shoe making and leather works among others.

She added that UNDP in the state has already provided Agricultural Extension Services Training to over 9000 farmers last year in three states of the north east affected by the boko Haram Insurgency.

Mizuho said also that UNDP had trained over 1,500 youths and women in Borno State apart from rehabilitation of three Vocational Centres in Borno State while urging the participants to be serious and dedicated to their respective vocational skills as anybody that successfully graduates, will be given a starter pack and token money to Strat up their own business and become self reilent as well as employer of labour or entrepreneurs.

She warned them to be disciplined and exhibit good habit as well conduct themselves properly during the training period by observing the rules of the game and constituted authorities, especially, the facilitators and instructors..

Mizuho said the yoiths must be ever ready to commit themselves as matriculated beneficiaries while appreciating the state government, school authorities and the matriculated as well as other partners such as State Ministries of Agriculture, RRR, Poverty Alleviation & Youths Empowerment , Animal Resources and Fisheries involved in the training programme.

The Executive Chairman, SEMA, Borno State, Hajjya Yabawa Kolo said in her remark said that the state government has planned for massive youths and women empowerment as part of the post insurgency frameworks and livelihood support activities to improve the living condition of the citizenry affected by the Insurgency.

She added that the state government has been in cordial relationship with the UNDP and other iNGOs in many partnershios and MOUs on humanitarian and livelihood support programmes for the IDPs and host communities.

Kolo pledged to continue to partner with the UN to empower the youths, particularly, the womenfolk who must are today either widows or orphans while thanking the organisation for their support and assistance to the youths and women.

European Union Representatives, Kabir Abbas and Ringpom Gwamzhi assured readiness of the EU to support the training programme to a success by making the participants self emoyed and future entrepreneurs.

EU Representatives also advised them to be serious, committed, dedicated and determined to the training programme as it will be useful to them in future while appealing to them to make proper use of the opportunity they got from UNDP and EU to be matriculated for the vicational skills training.

Kabir Abbas urged the implementators to incorporate behavioural trading in the modules for the beneficiaries,noting that EU has supported a lot of livelihoods programmes on health, education, livelihood support, gender sensitive violence , agriculture among others

Representatives of State Ministries of Poverty Alleviation and Youths Empowerment, Higher Education, Agriculture, RRR, Ramt Polytechnic, College of Agriculture and Fisheries commended the initiative and support programme respectively while calling on the participants to be serious and committed to the training programme for their own good and interest.