The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), an agency under the Federal Ministry of Labour, on Tuesday flagged off a skills acquisition training for 11, 300 internally displaced persons (IDPs) across states of the North-east region.

The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, said the programme was designed to fast track the rehabilitation, resettlement and stabilisation process in the conflict-ridden region.

Mr. Ngige, who was represented by the director of skills in the ministry, Ibrahim Jibiya, said the training was in line with the job creation policy drive of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

He said the beneficiaries would be trained under the Skill Acquisition Programmes of the NDE.

Speaking at the launch of the training in Maiduguri, Mr. Ngige said “the president is determined to empower youth and women through articulated policies and programmes, to create job opportunities and enhance wealth creation in the society.

“Employment is a key component of individual and national development, which also provides platforms for supporting and fulfilling individual, personal achievements and goals as well as contributing to the national economy,” he said.

The minister lauded the Borno State Government for its agriculture transformation programme.

The NDE Director-General, Nasiru Ladan, said the youth trainees were selected from the pool of 72, 000 youth that the NDE was mandated to train across the 36 states of the federation.

He said of the 11,300, the agency would train 4,000 persons in Borno, 3,100 in Yobe, 2,500 in Adamawa and 1,700 in Gombe.

He said 70 per cent of the beneficiaries will be women and the vulnerable who would be trained in the of making of pomade, soap, jelly, perfumes, tie and dye and hair dressing, among others.

“The male beneficiaries will be trained in carpentry, block-moulding, auto-mechanic and GSM repairs”, the NDE official said.

The trainees would undergo weeks of skills acquisition after which a cash token and starter packs in the form of tools would be given to each of them.

Borno state deputy governor, Usman Durkwa, who represented the state governor, Kashim Shettima, commended the Federal Government for the gesture.

He said having 11,000 youth acquire trade skills, “would go a long way in improving the social and economic well-being of the displaced persons.”

He however called for the expansion of the training scheme to reach a larger number of underemployed and unemployed youth in the region.

One of the beneficiaries of the training, Ibrahim, a graduate of civil engineering said he was glad being part of the programme.

“Since my graduation, I have been looking for a means of starting my own business in the area building, and thank God, this comes as a huge opportunity for me to make my dream come,” he said.