EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT: THE SCORECARD TO GROOMING ABIA YOUTHS FOR A SECURED FUTURE

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A week after, but it still feels like yesterday. I am elated remembering the smiles, the joy and excitement on the faces of the graduands as they receive their certificates.
The Education for Employment (E4E) Pilot Project Graduation ceremony served as a seal engraver to a great deal of work and efficiency being employed into reshaping the Abia youths for a secured future. The occasion was a convergence of ‘crème de la crème’ of people who have deep commitments to strongly held values which, importantly, are values and aspirations that concludes that a bettered future for the Abia youths and Nigeria in general required the full participation of a competent workforce in our developmental strides.
Incontrovertibly, good and responsive governance hinges on setting a roadmap that will translate to a bettered life for the populace at the short and long run intervals. Characteristically, visionary leaders evolves models to solve or ameliorate the socioeconomic challenges that pose threat to the people they superintend as such, one of the cardinal problems giving governments in Nigeria and beyond sleepless nights is the issue of youth unemployment.
There have been policies initiated in our nation in the past to stem the tide of unemployment. But owing to population explosion, poor planning and shoddy implementation, the gains seemed to be far from satisfactory.
It is therefore eminent to state that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration in Abia State is predicated on sound visionary blueprint that has seen the 26 years old State witness a speedy transformation in all fronts just within two years.
Already, the infrastructural deficit that was a serious challenge to Abia is receiving Governor Ikpeazu’s midas touch.
Today, Abia is in the vanguard as a huge construction haven and thus, appropriate to validate our amenities in order to have an enabled environment for our highly sought investors.
Realizing the imperatives of an effective and efficient workforce for the progress and growth of the state and national economy, investing in human capital development to support self sustainability, this administration thoughtfully created the Education for Employment programme to train and retrain graduates and non graduates alike in skills to match up to the constant challenge of global change and the demand for a competent workforce, to eradicate unemployment, shore up Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and thereby accelerate development in our dear State.
Since inception, the E4E project has been a huge success story with centres situated in all the local government areas for easy accessibility of the trainees.
The auspicious maiden graduation of the E4E trainees was highly impressive, the revelation that no small than 98% of the graduands performed marvelously well in the external NABTEB examination is attestation that the teaching formula is superb and also cements the fact that the instructors are qualitative than rather half baked.
It is appreciable that the programme will serve as a reference point for industries and concerns searching for qualified manpower, as the peak of the event witnessed the unveiling of the E4E job portal – JOBSE4E.com. According to the information given to Abia Online by the coordinator, Mr. Endi Ezengwa, the portal is the ‘what next’ after graduation. He further explained that it is a progression pathway for graduates of Education for Employment (E4E) and other skilled people that did not go through E4E to get employed (public, private or self). There will be JOB CENTRES in each LGA that will serve as data entry points, ICT training and employability skills training. People will be helped to seek job/contract opportunities and prepare them for interviews and presentations as need be. Employers all over Nigeria and beyond can search the web portal for competent Abians to engage.
Furthermore, it is instructive to note that the Asian tigers became prominent today by sending their citizens abroad to understudy the technological knowhow of the western world which has today, paid off handsomely as these countries are acclaimed global industrial giants. Same approach is applied back home in Abia, using many avenues like the E4E to leap to the advancement of our dear State. Hence, E4E programme is one that is packaged to sustainably train the manpower that will be catalytic to industrial and entrepreneurial drive of Abia state nay Nigeria in the present and future.
Needful it is to applaud the able tool in the hand of Governor Ikpeazu in achieving his objectives for the E4E project – Mr. Endi Ezengwa, Coordinator Education for Employment (E4E) who has shown unremitting zeal, determination and candour in piloting the programme, without much noise making, leaping to the landmark successes so far.
Incontestably, this noble brainchild of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration is one that will ensure perpetual economic prosperity for Abia and her citizens.
UNU