World Youth Skills Day: Foundation Train Natives On Vocational Skills

A non-governmental organization, Helpline Foundation for the Needy Abuja, has trained close to 50 natives of Abuja in vocational skills on bag-making and fishery production, as part of activities marking the United Nations World Youth Skills Day.

President of Helpline Foundation, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, said the objective of the World Youth Skills Day was to spread awareness about technical, and 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, and entrepreneurship, as well as the provision of a 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.

According to her, 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.

Ahmadu said in terms of percentage, the trend was slightly up from 21.7 percent 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 a better future saying the Helpline Foundation would provide them with experts in the field that will guide and make them become the best in the field.
Mrs. Victoria Odeyemi, who facilitated the training yesterday, urged youths to create opportunities for themselves without looking for white-collar jobs, that leather work was one of the most lucrative businesses in the world that do not require a lot of money to start and that can be carried out at the comfort of their homes.