World Skills Day: NGO empowers Abuja indigenes with fishery, bag-making skills

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Helpline Foundation for the Needy Abuja has organised vocational skill acquisition for 25 Abuja indigenes in bag-making and fishery production, as part of activities marking this year’s UN World Youth Skills Day.

The one-day training, which was held at the Diplomat’s Gardens and Park in Area 1 Garki Abuja, was facilitated by Mrs. Victoria Odeyemi, who has been in the business of bag making for 17 years.

She urged youth to create opportunities for themselves without looking for white collar jobs, adding that leader work was one of the most lucrative businesses in the world that do not require lot of money to start and that can be carried out at the comfort of their homes.

Odeyemi advised youth to acquire a skill as it will help them to be independent.

She also lauded Helpline Foundation as a wonderful NGO which has been in the frontline in supporting vocational training of young and old persons.

In her remarks, the President of Helpline Foundation, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, said the objective of the World Youth Skills Day was to spread awareness about technical, vocational education training, and the development of other skills relevant to both local and global economies.

Ahmadu, who was represented by Mr Mohammed Isa Mohammed, noted that the day was set out to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, entrepreneurship, as well as provision of unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, firms, employers and policymakers.

She identified youth unemployment as the most significant problem facing contemporary economies and societies in the world for developed and developing countries alike saying there had been an upward trend in the number of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET) which climbed to 273 million in 2021 above the 259 million young people who were classified as NEET in 2016.

She added  that the trend was slightly up from 21.7 per cent in 2015 to 22.4 percent in 2020 which implied that the international target to reduce the NEET rate by 2020 would be missed. 

She tasked the participants to eschew vices and focus on building their lives for better future saying the Helpline Foundation would provide them with experts in the field that will guide and make you become the best in the field.

Not left out, one of the participants, Usman Dalhatu Abubabar from Utata, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), said he hoped to use the skill acquired at the training as a source of living where he can earn income that will improve his life and that of his family.