Osun NYSC Coordinator charges corps members on self reliance through skill acquisition.

Osun NYSC Coordinator charges corps members on self reliance through skill acquisition.

By David Adejumo

The Osun State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mr Adegoke Ayodele, has charged corps members undergoing orientation at the Permanent orientation camp, Ede to endeavour to learn a skill during their stay in the camp so as to be self-reliant after the one year mandatory service.

Adegoke who gave the charge at the opening ceremony of the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme spoke about the importance of skills acquisition.

Adegoke introduced SAED programme as a learning platform for graduates to learn a skill, be self-reliant and be employers of labour.

“The NYSC SAED programme was set up to build capacity of corps members to gain the required entrepreneurship and hands-on skills to cope with the challenges of unemployment in the global economy,’’ he said.

“SAED programme has been put in place to assist corps members to cultivate the culture of entrepreneurship and income generation practices” he added.

Ayodele said the SAED programme would afford corp members to be economically active as entrepreneurs or be self-employed in their own business, exploring business opportunities rather than seeking elusive paid employment.

The coordinator said that business skills like Agro-Allied, Cosmetology, Automobile, construction, beautification and others skills would be taught

He concluded that a 30-hour period in nine days had been dedicated to SAED training for corps members during their 21 days in-camp orientation.

Mrs Olutayo Samuel, NYSC Deputy Director, and Head of Osun NYSC SAED, also encouraged the corps members to participate in the skills acquisition programme to add the skill as another source of income generation.

Samuel said NYSC was deliberate about empowering corps members, adding that lots of corps members who had passed through the SAED programme, are now entrepreneurs and many of the corps members are now teaching and training others.

According to Samuel, the Central of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry have put a programme in place to provide interest-free startup loans for the corps members that apply for the funds.

She urged them to take advantage of the provided opportunities to establish themselves as entrepreneurs.

(NAN)