Akwa Ibom Empowers 1000 Youth in Skill Acquisition Scheme

Succour has come the way of 1000 youth in oil rich Akwa Ibom, as the state government has doled out start-up grants to them after completing one year skill acquisition training.
Governor Udom Emmanuel at the graduation ceremony advised them to make judicious use of the acquired skills and start-up grants for higher productivity and self -development.
The governor who was represented by his deputy, Moses Ekpo said the Ibom 3000 Project was a human capital development and economic transformation programme conceived by the state government to empower the youths.
The governor charged the trainees whom he described as trail-blazers of the project not to sell the laptops and other kits provided for them.
He admonished them to see the starter packs as empowerment tools to advance their personal development in order to justify the confidence reposed on them by the state government.
Emmanuel stressed tha the project was one of the platforms for the implementation of the eight-point Completion Agenda comprising Human Capacity Development, Industrialization, Agriculture and Small and Medium Enterprises Development.
According to him, the scheme was designed to accommodate youths and women due to the significant role they play in community development which account for about 48 per cent of the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Flagged off about a year ago, the governor said the training would equip participants with entrepreneurial/ managerial skills, value re-orientation and attitudinal change in areas such as agriculture, oil and gas, Information and communication technology and micro small and medium Enterprises (MSMES).
The governor gave assurance that with the training, unemployment would be tackled in the state, while also offering graduands the opportunity to secure lucrative employment in multinational companies and large scale industries.
In his remarks, commissioner, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Engineer Camillus Umoh stated that the graduation ceremony was the first phase of the Ibom Project meant to train 3000 beneficiaries from the three senatorial districts of the state.
He explained that the aim of the scheme was to endow youth with basic skills to enhance their small businesses and enable them secure jobs in multinationals and other business concerns.
While appreciating Governor Emmanuel for actualizing his vision of human capacity development through the project, he lauded the facilitators and trainees for diligence exhibited in the course of the training and revealed that plans for the second phase was underway.