The Lagos State Government is set to empower graduates with cutting-edge technology skills that will give them a better advantage with employers of labour through the Oracle Development Training Program.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Ikeja, the State Commissioner for Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Pharmacist Akinbile-Yussuf stated that more than 100 graduates had applied for the programme but 50 were picked for the pilot scheme that will commence in the first week of November, 2018.
She added that the selected candidates will be going through three-week intensive and rigorous training on Oracle workforce development programme which is part of the curriculum from Oracle University that provides industry-certified training for graduates.
While noting that the target of the Ministry is to ensure that 95 per cent of the participants were gainfully employed by different organisations after the successful completion of the training, the Commissioner declared that some beneficiaries of previous employability skill-training programmes organised by the Ministry have been employed.
Akinbile-Yussuf, therefore, called on the private sector to send whatever their skill requirements for graduates are, saying the Ministry is ready to partner and tailor her employability training programmes to meet the needs sent in by the different organisations.
The strategic initiatives Manager of Oracle in Sub Saharan Africa, Mr. Adepegba Oduntan informed the gathering that the training was borne out of the desire to equip graduates with the right employability skills currently needed in the labour market.
He said his organisation is set to train graduates in line with the needs of employers, stressing that “This training will fill the skills deficit gap in Nigeria. We are training the graduates on the Oracle Database cloud up to certification level. In addition, the training will make the participants more valuable to employers of labour”.
On her part, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Ganiat Abidemi Raji implored the participants to maximise the opportunity inherent in the training programme in order to secure a bright future for themselves in the technology industry.
