Prof. Arigbabu
Youths in the country have been enjoined to acquire skills that will make them employable rather than waste or while away their time searching for white collar jobs.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu gave the advice during the Job Seekers’ Engagement Forum, organised in conjunction with Ogun State Skills Funds (OSF), a World Bank Assisted Project funded by the Ogun State Economic Transformation Projects, (OGSTEP), at the Government Science and Technical College (GSTC), Ijebu-Ode.
“Don’t put your minds at looking for white collar jobs, but rather, look for skills that will help you create values”, Arigbabu said.
He noted that the Ogun State Ministry of Education remains the only body offering National Skills Qualifications (NSQ), a certificate that guarantees recipients employment opportunities anywhere in the world.
Prof. Arigbabu pointed out that the infrastructure of the Eight Technical Colleges in the State were upgraded with modern equipment to further encourage vocational skills.
He stated that government had established three job centres in the three Senatorial Districts of the state to offer training services, such as, career counseling, skills training, employment services among others, urging the participants to take advantage of the centre for personal development and skills acquisition.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Oluwatosin Oloko, stated that the programme was an engagement forum to intimate people about the job centre established to enhance people skills, saying practical education was crucial to employment generation and human survival.
In his presentation, the resource person, Mr. Kazeem Ogungbe noted that most graduates were not employable due to the certificate acquired, hence the reason for the creation of the job centres, to ensure that residents of the State get self-reliant through the provision of skills acquisitions.
During the overview of the event, the Skills Specialist, OSF, Mr. Segun Fatoki, explained that business development training, business clinic and soft skills training would be dished out to candidates, saying interested applicants would also be trained on how to write Curriculum Vitae in line with industries’ requirements.
The President of the Old Students Association, Ijebu-Ode GSTC, Mr. Gilbert Olatunji noted that great benefits would come with being a technician, as it makes them more independent, self-employed and employers of labour.
Some of the participants, Funmilayo Idowu, Damilola Olowolagba and Ibrahim Jamiu appreciated the State Government for the life changing experience, saying that the programme was a motivation for them to fulfill their aspirations of becoming employers of labour.
