The National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO) has facilitated the training of 17 unemployed graduates from Iru Community, Iru -Victoria Island Local Council Development Area of Lagos State with vocational skills
The youths were trained on Agribusiness (crop and livestock farming), Information Communication Technology as well as Catering and Craft graduated on Wednesday after a three-month residential training programme at the Oluponna Fish Farming and Resource Foundation (OFFER) Centre, Iwo, in Osun State.
Speaking at the ceremony, Usman Baba, Managing Director, NETCO, which is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said NETCO would continue to make positive contributions to its host community.
Baba said the objective of the NETCOPRENEUR programme was to create youth empowerment which be of immense benefit to the indigenes of Iruland.
”The programme is designed firstly to address the current harsh economic realities and to provide an alternative means of employment through entrepreneurship.”
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The managing director who was represented by Iyabo Ayobami-Ojo, Manager, Public Affairs, NETCO, advised the graduands to be honest and creative in order to stand out and be successful in their businesses.
He tasked the youths to add value to themselves and their community, stressing that the continuity of the programme was dependent on its positive impact on them.
Baba said that they must show good examples for other youths in Iruland to benefit from training.
Also speaking, Princess Rasheedat Abiodun-Adu, Chairperson, Iru-Victoria Island LCDA, represented by Taofeek Abiola, the Council’s Secretary, lauded the cordial relationship between NETCO and the host community.
She enjoined the youths of the locality to take advantage of the training opportunities provided by NETCO to improve their lives and the entire community.
In his opening remarks, Adeleke Arebi, the chairman of the graduation ceremony, a former Chairman, Governing Council, Industrial Training Fund, said vocational skills acquisition was important to meaningfully engage graduates in the country.
Arebi urged the graduands to make use of the opportunity provided by the training to better their lives and contribute to the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
On his part, Macarius Olatunji, Rector, OFFER Centre, said all hands must be on deck to salvage Nigerian youths from the frustration of employment and its accompanying challenges.
Olatunji said the graduands were taken through rigorous training on business development that would enable them to successfully run small and medium scale enterprises.
He said apart from the starter pack already given to them by NETCO, they will also have their business names registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
“The trainees know as we do that opportunities for employment has narrowed down drastically in the society. All of them are experienced men and women.
“The opportunity NETCO gave them through OFFER Centre is one I am sure that they will not forget in a jiffy. They came, they saw and they conquered.
“What is left for them now is to turn the opportunity given to them into gold. That, I must say, we can’t wait to see happen,” Olatunji said.
Speaking on behalf of the graduands, Turner Ibrahim, thanked NETCO and OFFER Centre for the opportunity given to them, promising that they would use it for the betterment of the nation.
