From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has announced plans to train 90,000 people in various skills through a new programme set to launch shortly.
The new Director-General, Silas Agara, disclosed this during a meeting with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, where he presented his road map for the directorate.
Agara emphasised the importance of job creation for Nigeria’s youth, stating that the programme will encompass 30 different skill sets across four key departments: Special Public Works, Vocational Training, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Agricultural Programmes.
To support this initiative, he explained that a dedicated portal is expected to be operational soon, to allow tracking of training progress, enable participants to access training resources and connect them with potential employers.
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.
“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,” he stated.
Decrying the huge rent being spent on its current building, Agara also disclosed plans by the NDE to relocate into its newly built office that is nearing completion.
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 arrangement is 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.”