Varsity, Partners Empower 900 Female Students With Skills

A total of 900 female students of Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU) in Bauchi State have benefitted from a soft skills and employability training conducted in the school’s Yuli and Gadau campuses.

The training, organised by the university’s Entrepreneurship Development Centre in collaboration with Jobberman and Giwa Agro, was funded by the Mastercard Foundation.

The initiative targeted 300- and 400-level female students from various departments, to equip them with practical skills as they near graduation.

Addressing the trainees yesterday, the vice chancellor of SAZU, Prof. Fatimah Tahir, emphasised the importance of acquiring additional life and professional skills beyond academic qualifications.

She was represented by the director of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Dr. Salisu Ibrahim Waziri, who said, “It is not enough for you to graduate without having what we call extra value. Learning to communicate in public, for instance, is a skill.”

Prof. Tahir urged the students to maximise the opportunity provided at no cost, adding that the impact of the training will extend beyond individual students to the broader society, in line with the adage, “Educating a woman is educating a nation.”

The training covered areas such as public speaking, CV writing, business and grant proposal development, and basic ICT skills all geared toward enhancing the employability and entrepreneurial capacity of the participants.

For his part, the Lead Consultant of Giwa Agro, Malam Ibrahim Aminu Tahir, described the training as a critical step towards bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world demands.

He pledged continued collaboration with the university to support student development.

A total of 600 students from the Gadau campus and 300 from the Yuli campus participated in the programme, while a similar session is expected to take place soon at the Misau campus.