The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has inducted 400 women across the 20 local government areas of Bauchi State for a three-month training on entrepreneurship and skills’ acquisitions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries were inducted under the Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS) Vocational Skills Department Programme of the NDE.
The Director-General of NDE in the state, Mr Ladan Argungu, advised the beneficiaries during the orientation.
He said that they should take the training as part of the agency’s mandate to recruit 20 people from each local government of the nation’s 774 local government areas for empowerment.
He said that the mandate also includes that those recruited by the NDE were effectively trained in different entrepreneurship and skills.
He said one of the reasons for the training was Federal Government’s recognition of women’s efforts by voting for President Muhammadu Buhari, during the last general election.
He said this motivated the special attention of training women on how to be employers of labour.
Argungu was represented by Malam Lawan Yaya, the Bauchi State Coordinator of NDE.
He also said that another reason behind the training was the belief that when a woman is empowered, the whole community is equally empowered.
“It is not as if we do not have men in Bauchi, but empowering a woman is empowering the whole nation.
“Once you give a woman education, you are giving the whole of that community the same education; and that is why we are starting the training with women before that of men.’’
Argungun congratulated the women who benefitted from the scheme, adding that empowering women through skills acquisition is the best legacy one can give them.
He said that if a woman had a trade, she would be able to cater for herself, her children and her immediate community without any intimidation.
NAN reports that the women would be trained in tailoring, hairdressing, cosmetology, bead stringing, tie-and-dye and other trades peculiar to women.
Also, Mr Yakubu Manni, the NDE’s Director of Vocational Skills Development Department, said that as water is essential to human lives, so also is skill acquisition.
Manni was represented by Mr Ibrahim Haroon, an NDE official from its national headquarters.
He urged the participants to make effective use of the opportunities given to them in order to add value to their lives and become employers of labour.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Khadijat Ibrahim appreciated the Federal Government and NDE for coming up with the laudable programme.
She said that all of them would commit themselves to acquire their desired skills.
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