The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has inducted 400 women across the 20 local government areas of Bauchi State for a three months training on different entrepreneurship and skills acquisitions in the state.
The beneficiaries were inducted under the Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS) in the Vocational Skills Department Programme of the NDE.
The beneficiaries included, tailoring, hairdressing, cosmetology, bead stringing, tie and dye among other trades peculiar to women.
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Speaking during the Orientation programme for the beneficiaries in Bauchi on Tuesday, Ladan Argungu, the Director-General, NDE, said the training was part of the agency’s mandate of recruiting 20 people per LG in the 774 LGAs in the country and effectively trained them in different entrepreneurship and skills acquisition.
He said one of the reasons for the training was because the Federal Government recognized the untiring efforts of women in going out to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari during the last election, hence the special attention on training women on how to be employers of labour.
Argungu, who was represented by Malam Lawan Yaya, Bauchi State Coordinator of NDE, revealed that another reason behind the training was because, when a woman is empowered, the whole community is equally empowered.
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“It’s not as if we don’t have men in Bauchi, but empowering a woman, is empowering the whole nation.
Lawani Yaya, Bauchi State coordinator of NDE, representing the Director-General, NDE.
“Once you give a woman education, you are giving the whole of that community the same education and that is why we are starting the training of women before that of men.
“Therefore, I would like to congratulate all the women here today for this opportunity and victory,” said the D-G.
He explained that skills acquisition programme is the most important scheme that one can give to a woman, adding that if a woman has a trade, she would be able to cater for herself, her children and the immediate community without intimidation.
In his speech, Mr Yakubu Manni, Director, Vocational Skills Development Department, NDE Headquarters who was represented by Mr Ibrahim Haroon, an NDE official, National headquarters, said as water is essential to human lives, so also is skills acquisition programmes.
He urged the participants to make effective use of the opportunity given to them in order to add value to their lives and become employers of labour.
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Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Khadijat Ibrahim, appreciated the Federal Government and NDE for coming up with the laudable programme, adding that they would all commit themselves into acquiring their desired skills.