The National Directorate of Employment, NDE, has commenced basic business training in Bayelsa State for the beneficiaries of the federal government Extended Special Public Works, ESPW, programme.
It would be recalled that the programme was flagged off in the state on January 19, by the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, HMSPR, Chief Timipre Sylva.
This programme entails recruitment of one thousand unemployed youths per local government area of the state and engaging them for a period of three (3) months in jobs available in their localities and are paid a stipend of N60,000, for the three months by the federal government.
The Director-General of the NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, who was represented by the Bayelsa State Coordinator, Mr Ahamefule Osuchukwu during the flag-of of the training in Yenagoa, commended the federal government for the successful execution of the scheme throughout the federation.
He said the current business training is part of beneficiaries’ exit strategy from the 774,000 jobs scheme, aimed at equipping the former participants with entrepreneurial and business skills aimed at exposing them to the rudiments of business and available business opportunities.
“This training will enable beneficiaries to effectively utilize whatever facilities that will come their way creditably with the ultimate aim of removing them from the unemployment market to making them employers of labour and this training is spread throughout the three senatorial zones of the state,” he added.
In her remark, the Director of the Small Scale Enterprises, Mrs Bassey Attah, who was represented by Mr Sunday Apakasa urged the participating beneficiaries to take this training as an olive branch from the federal government through the NDE aimed at making them employers of labour.