Youth Entrepreneurship and Skill Acquisition Programme

The importance of Entrepreneurial skill development  in our society today cannot be over emphasized because gone are the days when jobs were available everywhere both in the private and public sectors of the economy and employers go about looking for potential graduates for employment. The question of choice of job or the type of employer the one would like is now a story after graduation is now thing of the old. White collar jobs are scarcely available. Hence many graduates are desperate to get any job to keep body and soul together. Indeed there is paradigm shift in the labour market.

Therefore, the need to acquire and develop specific entrepreneurial skills cannot be neglected because entrepreneurship is vital to creating employment and indeed a special form of employability for graduates. Empowerment helps individuals or groups to fully access personal/collective power through knowledge, skills and motivation for proper functioning in their society and contribution to the economy. The importance of acquiring entrepreneurial skills includes

• Self-employment: a skill acquired man is a self-employed man. A self-employed person can never go hungry because the skill he acquired provides food for him/her on a daily basis. But one who lacks skill acquisition will find it difficult to be self-employed because he/she has nothing to offer.
• Helps the society not to depend on white collar jobs.
• Helps youth develop a positive attitude towards work and labour.
• It reduces poverty.
• Helps youth to be self-reliant and independent.
• Diverse job opportunities. Have you ever seen someone who acquires many skills alone? Such person is classified as someone who is up and doing. Those who have many skills stand the chance of gaining more jobs from many establishments. People who have many skills are being searched for by many companies. Company A,B & C stand in a queue fighting over one person. They are searched for because they can do many functions due to the series of skills possessed.
• Employment generation. Many governments are still finding it difficult to provide jobs for the citizens because the citizens are lacking important skills they need. There will be a lot of jobs generated for the citizens of every country if the citizens are well equipped with skills. This is why it is necessary for government to organize skill acquisition programme for the masses as this will go a long way in providing jobs for others, someone who is well equipped on fashion and designing skill can train his fellow citizens. When these citizens mature in such field, they start earning from the skill they acquired. This is how the newly trained in that field will train other persons and employment generation keeps on growing in such circle. Likewise those who have good skills in business they make good money in their businesses and generate employment for others by employing others to assist him in his business.
• Effective function: Organizations that employ skilful workers to assist in their organizational duties lose nothing at all because there will be always effective functions performed by the employee. This is because the employee has acquired necessary skills needed for him to perform the work as desired by the organization. The knowledge he gained from the training on that specific job makes him to do the organizations work as desired by the management of the organization.
• Crime Reduction: Skills acquisition reduces the crime rate in our society. People begin to think on many dirty activities they will do to make money when they do not have anything to call job of their own. But with acquired skill by an individual he/she works and makes money from his/her acquired skill. This will make him/her to feel comfortable in life and do not disturb his/her life in any way. Also the skills acquired by the citizens who were indulging in crime before can be used to convert those who are still partakers in such bad practice. They can go after their old bad friends and teach them the new skills they acquired thereby converting them to good.

The Programme is categorized into 3 sections.
• Business and Career Development
• Skills acquisition & Apprenticeship
• MTN Fountation ICT training