By Aichienede Akhabue Goodluck
As part of activities to climax the Skill Up Project, the Edo State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs) has held a stakeholders’ engagement session tagged “Presentation of the EdoJobs Skill Up Project” at the Government House in Benin City.
The event which was aimed at assessing the impact of the since it was launched, and to signify the formal handover of the project fully to EdoJobs by its partners; The Franco-Anglophone Academy of Arts and Culture (LAFAAAC) and Wazobia.
In her welcome address, the Managing Director of EdoJobs, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, expressed appreciation to the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, for his penchant and support for the digital empowerment of the youths and his role in encouraging the youths to take advantage of the various projects of EdoJobs.
The Deputy Governor said he was thrilled by the success stories of the beneficiaries of the Skill Up project and admonished the youths to always take advantage of the various programs of EdoJobs.
He noted, “Unfortunately, most of our youths are tagged lazy. This trend has to change. Each time we advertise a product, it is discovered that the majority of our youths are not keying into it. If you do not apply, you cannot be ready to take the leadership challenge of tomorrow”.
Comrade Shaibu charged the youths to take advantage of the various skills and empowerment programs which EdoJobs has initiated.
He said, “You must discover yourself; listening to some of the beneficiaries this morning, assuming they spent their time online gossiping, doing all sorts of negative things and wasting their time in unproductive ventures, they would not be here to give testimonies of what they have benefited from this project. The Creative Centre, the Production Center, the Technology Hub, were created for you to discover yourself and be useful to yourself and the community.”
The Deputy Governor encouraged the youths not to lose confidence in themselves, stating that the State needs them in order to activate their inbuilt talent and skills to be able to turn the State to a hub of economic activities.
He stressed that the youths should make themselves available in order to achieve the goal of Making Edo Great Again.
While commending the various partners of the project (the French Government, LAFAAAC and Wazobia), he solicited their interventions in other sectors of the economy especially agriculture.
He noted, “We need you to be involved in agriculture because it is the new goldmine that we must encourage young men and women to go into. The entire World now is in dire need of what to eat.
“Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war is also creating a major upset in the global food economy, but one thing that is constant and that we all need is food. Food and technology are the two new goldmines the world is placing attention on.”
The event also had sessions where representatives of LAFAAAC, and Wazobia gave presentations on the impact assessment of the Skill Up Project as well as workshops on training and technical platforms. They noted that about 1500 trainees registered for the Skill Up Project with an age bracket of 16 to 30years.
Other participants at the event including the Filmmakers Guild, Theatre Arts, Association of DJs, Student Union Representatives, commended the State Government and EdoJobs for initiating the skill Up Project which have equipped and empowered their members and sue for its sustenance and wider coverage so as to benefit other spectrum of the society beyond the youth populace.
Recall that the Edo State Government through EdoJobs entered into partnership with LAFAAAC, SUMMVIEW, Teach on Mars, WebForce3 and Wazobia to launch an EdoJobs Online Academy in empowering 3000 youths in creative industries.
The Skill Up Project aimed among others to develop a mobile digital learning application where learners can access whenever and wherever either offline or online.
Over time, the project has helped to upscale both the soft and hard skills as well as empowerment that will enable the youth to earn a living.
