The federal government yesterday handed over the ministry of labour and employment Skills Upgrading and Vocational Training Centre (SUVTC) located in Ibi local government area to Taraba State government.
The move according to the ministry is to curb unemployment menace and youth restiveness in the country through the establishment of skills centres mostly rural areas nationwide.
At the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) involving the minister of labour and employment, Simon Lalong and the Taraba State government in Abuja, the federal government said it want to encourage the acceptance of blue-collar jobs as against the insistence on white-collar jobs that is highly lavored by the youths.
Lalong said the development marked the beginning of what is to come in the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The minister also encouraged other state governments to emulate Taraba State.
Earlier, the director overseeing the office of the permanent secretary in the ministry, Juliana Adebambo said the signing of the MOU came at a time when restiveness among the youths especially in that part of the North-East region of the country has become worrisome.
In his remarks, Taraba State commissioner, ministry of cooperative and poverty alleviation, James Philip assured of effective management of the centre.
He said that the state government has put in place proactive measures and effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure the smooth running of the centre.
According to him, the government target is to train at least 5000 skilled youths and women in the centre in the next three years.
