4 hours ago
22
Determined to support President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda of empowering the youths through skills development, entrepreneurship and job creation, the IDEAS Project under the Federal Ministry of Education has signed a Contract MOU.
This is as the National Project Coordinator of IDEALS Project Mrs Blessing Ogwu stated that the project, is a program poised to transform the landscape of youth employment and skills development in Nigeria.
Mrs Blessing who assured that the initiative strongly supports Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda by contributing to help skills development, entrepreneurship, job creation and more stated this during the Contract MOU signing and implementation workshop of the Nigeria Youth Employment Through Skills Fund (NYESAF) under the innovation, Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills(IDEAS Project.
According to Mrs Blessing Ogwu, “At the heart of the IDEAS Project is the belief that empowering our youths with relevant skills is not just an investment in their future but a critical building block for the long- term development of our nation.
“The NYESAF initiative under the guidance of this project, aims to provide the necessary support to help our young people become more employable, entrepreneurial and economically independent.
“Today’s event marks a pivotal stop in the journey of NYESAF. We are not merely signing contracts , we are laying the foundation for a stronger, more resilient workforce.
“Through collaboration with our partners, stakeholders and committed institutions, we will create a lasting impact on the lives of thousands of young Nigerians The National Coordinator Assured.
Also at the Contract/Memorandum of Understanding Signing and Implementation Workshop of the Nigerian Youth Employment Through Skills Acquisition Fund (NYESAF),
the World Bank Education Specialist Mistura Rufai, revealed that the World Bank has earmarked the sum of 60 million dollars to benefit 75,000 Nigerian youths under the Innovation, Development, and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) project of the Ministry of Education.
Mistura disclosed that “The IDEAS Project is currently a project of about $130 million, but for this component of the (NYESAF) project, we are looking at about $60 million for the results.
She assured that the project will enhance the capacity of Nigeria’s skills development system to provide training for both the formal and informal sectors.
“And the NYESAF component is focusing on education, employment, or training. It looks at using result-based contracting to provide short-duration training for youths.
“So for this cohort that we have, we are looking at training about 75,000 trainees going forward.
“So the cost of training will vary based on the trades and based on the market prices that the Training Service Providers (TSPs),” Mistura stated
Giving an insight into NYESAF, the Project NPCU, Mr. Ndem Ndiyo, noted that before the TSPs were selected, they went through rigorous process and people dispatched to inspect their facilities.
He revealed that the project fund is accessible by both public and private TSPs, he said, it is targeting youths between ages 15 and 35.
According to him, only Nigerians will National Identification Number (NIN) will be trained with priority for women.
He also warned the TSPs that they will be blacklisted by the Federal Ministry of Education and other stakeholders if they use the grant for anything outside the objectives and goals of NYESAF.
He advised them to be open to auditing and have Bank account solely dedicated to the project.
Also one of the trainers, Jafaru Armed from Federal College of Education Technical Training Centre, assured the World Bank and the Ministry of Education that they are equal to the task and will do their best to give quality training to Nigerian youths.
According to him, “These programmes are good for our youth. It is a great project that will empower youths with skills so that they can make something good out of their lives.”
Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, said the project, which consists of four components, is designed to transform the landscape of youth employment and skills development.
The Minister of Education who was represented at the event explained that empowering youths with skills is not just an investment, but an important building block for the long-term development of the country.
According to him, the first component focuses on technical education, the second on the informal sector, the third on technical teacher education, while the fourth is the Innovation Grant Fund (IGF)
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