An organisation known as Ondo State Artisans Group (OSAG), said on Sunday that it had commenced a free one-year skill acquisition programme for unemployed youths in Ondo State.
Mr Damisi Komolafe, the President of the group, which comprise of 78 artisan associations, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure.
Komolafe said 500 apprentices had already enrolled in the programme which was aimed at training 250,000 youths in various skills across the 18 local government areas of the state.
He said that the youths were being trained in carpentry, tailoring, marble work, welding and automobile repair, among others.
Komolafe said that the programme would enable the youths to be self-reliant and become employers of labour for the teeming youth in the state.
“The free programme will capture 250,000 unemployed graduates, undergraduates and those idle youths roaming about the streets including indigenes and non-indigenes.
“We all know that government cannot employ all the youths in the state especially now that the country is in recession,” he said.
He said that due to idleness many youths had taken to social vices and could not contribute to the economic growth of the state.
Komolafe appealed to the state government to support the scheme to enable the group achieve its desired goals.
“We are calling on the state government to support the scheme by paying a quarterly stipend of at least N5,000 to each of the trainees,” he said. (NAN)