The Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Pharmacist Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf has advised Nigerian youths, especially those seeking employment to acquire soft skills in order to fit into the current paradigm shift in the labour market.
The Commissioner, who made the call today at the Youth Entrepreneurship Mentoring Seminar organised by the Ministry, observed that following the paradigm shift, most employers now emphasize individuals’ skill as against certificate qualifications.
She said that the current administration is committed to reducing the rate of unemployment by encouraging the people to be self-employed, adding that the realization prompted the establishment of Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, among other intervention, to champion development, create wealth and employ the people of the State.
Akinbile-Yusuf also disclosed that the Ministry is collaborating with Betti-O Foundation School of Fashion, an arm of ‘Ruff N Tumble’ for the training of 50 youths in the art of fashion design and garments under its Sustainable Enterprise Development Programme, just as it had also concluded partnership with Auto-Medics to train technicians so as to meet the challenges of modern automobile repairs.
“In a bid to encourage the growth and development of Entrepreneurship as the catalyst for economic growth as well as solve the problem of access to capital, the State Government established the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) aimed at providing affordable credit to assist entrepreneurs in implementing their business ideas thereby providing the mechanism for stimulating growth, reducing unemployment as well as addressing youth restiveness”, the Commissioner said.
She explained that the various measures of the government in the area of empowerment are aimed at raising the skill level of entrepreneurs to match the demands and needs of the society, especially with new technologies being developed around the world.
One of the facilitators at the event, Mr. Lanre Oniyitan of Holistic Business Solutions, admonished the participants to leverage on the opportunity of being graduates to do things better than not too literate persons.
He maintained that there is always a business angle to every human activity and challenged the youth to explore the business opportunities based on their identified skills in order to make a living with it.
