Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the immediate establishment of additional three Technical Colleges for the State, increasing the number of Technical and Vocational Colleges from five to eight.
This was disclosed today by the Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule at the Year 2016 and 2017 graduation ceremony of the five Technical Colleges held at Agidingbi, Ikeja.
The Deputy Governor stated that the proposed new Technical Colleges, which would be sited at Alimosho, Ibeju and Badagry, would further help to train the youths and unemployed graduates in acquiring new skills and opportunities to help them create jobs and be self-reliant.
Adebule, who noted that technical and vocational skills are crucial to achieving self-reliance and sustainable economic growth under the present economic recession, informed that the State government has invested heavily in the development of technical and vocational education in recognition of the role technical and vocational education plays in the provision of quality services and development.
“The fact remains that the best way by which we can help create employment opportunities, stimulate economic growth in our State and Nation and alleviate poverty is to equip our youths with skills by which they can use in creating jobs for themselves and become self-reliant”, she averred.
While congratulating the 1, 324 graduating students from the five technical colleges, Adebule urged them to justify government's huge investment by maximizing the training they received to impact on good service delivery and economic fortune of the State.
The Deputy Governor, while justifying the reason for focusing on technical and vocational education as a strategy for economic growth, maintained that reliable findings indicated that Lagos State has the nation’s highest population of people less than 25 years of age at present, adding that by 2025, Lagos will be home to around 20% of the nation’s population aged 24 and below.
She explained further that the implication of the findings is that government must be ready to create jobs every year for the next two decades to prevent social unrest and youth restiveness.
Earlier in her welcome address, Chairman, Technical and Vocational Education Board, Mrs. Omolara Erogbogbo charged the new graduands to maximize the full advantage of technology in their various areas of specializations to render quality services to the people and create wealth.
Erogbogbo stated that the realisation of the importance of technical education to economic recovery made the State government invest heavily in the area, urging the graduating students to use their acquired knowledge and skills to bring positive changes to the economy of the State and the Nation.
The event was well attended by top government functionaries, parents and relatives of the graduands and members of the academic community.
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