FG, Stakeholders Task Nigerians On Skill Development, Commend Firstbank’s Initiative

The federal government, through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, alongside key stakeholders in the education, financial and development sectors, has called on Nigerians to embrace skills acquisition and vocational empowerment, while commending FirstBank for its sustained investment in youth- and women-focused capacity development initiatives across the country.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 50 women from a vocational and entrepreneurship training programme sponsored by FirstBank Nigeria Limited in partnership with the African Projects Development Centre (APDC) in Gwagwalada, Abuja, yesterday, a representative of the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Saratu Salawu, said skill acquisition is a critical tool for tackling unemployment, poverty and economic inequality in the country.

She also urged the graduates to make productive use of the skills acquired. “Do not sit back and wait for someone to arrange a job for you. It is important to have something meaningful you can do for yourself and your community,” she said.

Also, Nkechi Mathew, who represented the pioneer Mandate Secretary of the Women Affairs Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, described the graduation as proof that Nigerian women are prepared to contribute meaningfully to economic development.

Salawu, Mathew, as well as other guests and participants, commended the “You First Fashionistas Training Programme” by FirstBank and APDC, which was launched to equip participants with practical skills in fashion design, hair styling and makeup artistry as part of efforts to tackle youth unemployment and encourage entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s expanding creative and beauty industries. The training began on September 16, 2025, and will run until December 18, 2026, culminating in a grand fashion fair in 2027.

According to FirstBank, the initiative is capable of boosting economic growth by equipping beneficiaries with practical skills that enable them to create products, earn income and improve their livelihoods. The bank said participants had already begun producing clothes and other creative items for commercial purposes, adding that the programme was designed to move women into the active economy through income-generating skills in fashion, hair styling and makeup artistry.

The bank urged the graduates to become job creators rather than job seekers.

FirstBank added that the partnership with APDC aims to empower 200 women within one year through four cohorts of 50 participants each, describing the initiative as part of its commitment to sustainable economic empowerment and impactful corporate social responsibility.

Also speaking at the graduation ceremony, APDC Managing Director, Chiji Ojukwu, said the organisation established its vocational and entrepreneurship programmes to tackle rising youth and women unemployment in Nigeria.

He disclosed that APDC had trained about 10,000 youths in various sectors over the past eight years, with its fashion and beauty programme alone benefiting nearly 500 women across nine cohorts. Ojukwu said the initiative was designed to help beneficiaries become self-reliant business owners and employers, while revealing plans for a fashion fair to showcase trainees’ products and services to investors and customers.

He also noted that APDC, which began with agricultural training, now runs about 15 empowerment programmes and has received support from financial institutions, including FirstBank, as part of broader youth empowerment efforts.