No fewer than 60 young Nigerians were Tuesday graduated from TotalPrenuers programme in agriculture and vocational skills in Osun State, sponsored by Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria.
The youths, selected across the nation, were the fourth batch of the Total upstream graduating students trained in agriculture and vocation skills.
The 60 young Nigerians were trained under a programme tagged “TOTAL premiere at OFFERcentre Institute of Agriculture, Oluponna, in Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State, which 30 students were trained in agriculture, 30 on vocational skills.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mike Sangster, managing director, Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria, said the youths were drawn from all the six geo-political zones in the country for the training.
Sangster, who was represented by Vincent Nnadi, executive general manager, CSR and Medical Services, said under the agric programme, 30 youths were trained in fish farming, animal husbandry, pottery, crop production, among others.
Read also: Seek knowledge to leverage opportunities in agribusiness, expert tells youths
He said the remaining 30 were trained in catering and hotel management, event management, photography, arts and crafts, among others, saying the youths also received training in Entrepreneurship, Business Management, Computer Appreciation, Accounting and Marketing.
The Total boss said the company had trained over 240 youths at the Institute with more than N100 million invested in the training.
According to Sangster, Total came to OFFERcentre in 2016 and since then Total had invested over N100 million in partnership with OFFERcentre, “And by this, we have transformed 240 young men and women from being applicants and job seekers to entrepreneurs and employers of labour,”
He said the training of the youths was in furtherance of Total CSR, as part of the company’s Deep Water Operations, noting that Total would monitor the youths, as the successful ones among them would receive further support to help grow their businesses.
In his remarks, Macarius Olatunji, the Rector of the Institute, said the youths were the fourth set graduating from the centre since 2016, saying the 60 graduating youths brought the total number of trained youths to 240 since inception.
“You have trained 240 youths in four years. Don’t look at it as a small number in relative terms.
“But this will create the needed ripple of entrepreneurs not just from the direct beneficiaries but also other companies whom you have inspired,” Olatunji said.
He said the training given to the youths was enough to take them out of poverty, urging them to embrace self- employment.
The Rector said the graduating youths comprise of 31 female and 29 male.
He said the youth were taken through the totality of agribusiness as well as catering, hospitality and crafts for three months.
“OFFERcentre Institute of Agriculture is not a conventional school but rather it is a centre of creativity and innovation, borne out of the need to order solutions to some of our challenges as a people,” Olatunji said.
In his remarks, the governor of the state Governor Gboyega Oyetola, urged the youths to utilise the training they have received to benefit themselves.
Oyetola, who was represented by Gbemisola Fajorin, director-general of Osun Agricultural Development Programme, said his administration would continue to make agriculture a priority.
Some of the graduating youths who spoke with newsmen expressed their gratitude to Total and OFFERcentre for the opportunity given to them.
One of the graduating students, Gladness Eigbe, trained in catering and hospitality, said the training she received was enough to see her through in her business.
Eigbe, a native of Edo State and a graduate of Economics, said she was ready to be an employer of labour and not a job seeker.
Also, Martins Numbe, another trainee, said he was eager to start his agribusiness to develop his future. The youths were given starters-pack at the end of the ceremony.
