The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) under Tinubu led-administration has launched 90,000 job programme for Nigerian Youths within three months on thirty different skills.
The Director-General, Silas Agara said programme will encompass 30 different skill sets across four key departments: Special Public Works, Vocational Training, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Agricultural Programmes.
He said that the programme which will have ten persons from each electoral ward across the country will run for three months, adding that the recruitment would be done through online registration in a dedicated portal.
The NDE DG said that the programme which is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and that the mandate of the directorate was to create job and generate activities that will give hope to the youths. The Director-General said that the training programme will focus on quality, with a structured resettlement package for graduates, adding that collaborations with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs are underway to ensure comprehensive support for all beneficiaries.Agara said: “We are hoping to train over 90,000 youths in about thirty skills spread across four departments. We can start by recruiting youths logging into our portal which is over 90 percent ready.“NDE is not a profit-making organisation, but to support the youth out there. To hit the ground running, we had to meet to ensure that we generate an activity that will give the youth hope. And doing that, we have been able to come up with a programme that hopefully either before the end of the week, or by next week, we should have the portal open for the programme.”
The NDE boss noted that in the past, the settlement packages of beneficiaries of the scheme have not been encouraging but promised that those who would benefit from the ongoing recruitment and skills acquisition would be settled on their own.
He said: “We will be looking at, at least N150,000 to N200,000 as a settlement package. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs will also provide settlement packages to some beneficiaries.”He noted that the directorate possesses the necessary manpower but lacks the motivation and tools needed to effectively fulfill its mandate.
The DG said: “And I’m quite happy that we are trying to bridge the gap by ensuring that we make all the necessary tools available for the staff of the agency. For instance, the corporate headquarters of NDE, as you can see, is the one we are currently occupying, which again is a rented property.
“But we want to thank the federal government for making one available. We are hoping that by the special grace of God, we should relocate to our corporate headquarters before the end of the year. That, we believe, will give the staff the enabling environment to work, giving a very good environment.
“And that again will boost their morale. All arrangements are on to ensure that we’ll meet up with the December timeline that we have set for ourselves. And by the special grace of God, work is progressing at the headquarters.
“It might not be 100% ready, but it will be good that we are occupying something that belongs to NDE. And of course, the encouragement will be there that we are occupying something that belongs to NDE. With time, in a few months, we can get the place 100% completed for occupation.
“But we can occupy some of the floors there and make sure that activities of the agency move smoothly and will deliver the needed goals to Nigerians.”
DG instructed interested persons can log onto www.nde.gov.ng to create an account and register online with a valid email address with a valid email, passport photograph, and National Identity Number (NIN) or contact the NDE office in their state for assistance.
He said the NDE portal is open from 21 October, 2024 and will last till 31 December, 2024.
“Successful candidates will be contacted by the NDE office for deployment to training outlets. The NDE’s mission is to design and implement programs to combat mass unemployment and develop labor-intensive work programs,” he said.
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