There are indications that Mafita project financed by UK`s Department for International Development (DFID) which is currently being implemented in northern Nigeria would be providing Job opportunities for 68,000 marginalized youths in the area.
About 2,925 of the youths have already been provided employable skills in various trades, while, 17,000 others are currently under-going trainings at different centres in four states-Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, and Jigawa states, where the project is being implemented.
Umar Nuhu Mohammed, leader of the implementation team, who made this disclosure to Business a.m., on the side-line of a media briefing organised by Mafita, to create awareness for the programme held in the commercial city of Kano, said the project which started in 2015 has a five year life span.
According to Mohammed, there are two classes of beneficiaries of the programme, the first class beneficiaries, are marginalized youths between the ages of 15-24 years, who are living under #360 a day and are not enrolled in any full –time formal education.
He disclosed that the first categorize of beneficiaries includes: Almajirai, Girls in Islamiyya and Qur’anic Schools, Persons with Disabilities (PWDS), Orphaned and Vulnerable Children, as well as young persons who dropped out of schools.
Adding that the second categorize of beneficiaries have link with the primary enrollees in the programme, and they includes: Malamai (Teachers of Qur`anic, Tsangaya and Islamiyya Schools), Traditional Leaders; Micro and Small Enterprises; Trade Associations; Master Craft Persons (MCPS); and State Agencies.
Giving insight into the nature of the project, the team leader explained that the project is also supporting the re-modeling of government –owned Business Apprenticeship Training Centres (BATCs) and converting to Community Development Centres (COSDECs) in the targets.
He added that the Centres were conceived to deliver structured and certified skills trainings, through process of bringing training opportunities to communities, rather than encouraging migration to urban areas for skills acquisition.
“COSDECs are designed to operate as ‘One-Stop –Shop ‘skills delivery facility offering foundational skills, vocational, entrepreneurial, life skills training, incubation facilities to the beneficiaries, as well as a community –based governance structure in the form of Community Management Committees.
“Apprenticeships serves as a key starting point for young people into work and provides Master Crafts Persons (MCPs) with basic skills training. Mafita works within the informal sector to provide National Board for Technical Education certified training for both MCPs and Marginalized youths to improve overall quality of skills in the local market.
“Throughout the training period, beneficiaries gain classroom –based skills in literacy (the ability to read and write), numeracy (skills with numbers and mathematics), technical theory and life skills like Curriculum Vitae (CV) writing and business development.
“The combined approach of on –the-job training, mentorship by MCPs and provision of foundational skills, provides an otherwise fragmented informal labour market with recognizable and industry competitive qualifications” he further explained
