Gov. Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday said 150 of the 442 students that participated in the State’s Entrepreneurship and Employability Training Programme would be recruited into the State’s Civil Service.
Ambode said this while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the pioneer set of the programme in Lagos.
The governor said that the government remained committed to capacity building, entrepreneurship empowerment and sustainable youth development.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 13-week programme tagged: “Ready Set Work’’, is an initiative of the state’s Ministry of Education for final-year students of tertiary institutions in the state.
He said that the programme was meant to position the students to succeed in the competitive, global labour market, considering the current unemployment statistics.
“This initiative will enable many of you seated here today to get internship placements in high-ranking corporate organisations.
“It will also provide a platform for those with viable business ideas to benefit from Angel investors and the State’s Employment Trust Fund.
“Our administration believes strongly that the future of our dear state and great country lies in the hands of its youths who constitute a significant portion of our population,’’ he said.
Ambode urged the beneficiaries to sustain the vision by pushing ahead with same strength and focus that brought them to the programme, even in the face of current economic situation in the country.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said that three criteria: punctuality, attendance and completion of all courses were used to assess the graduands.
NAN reports that the first three groups assessed, based on their projects and business presentations, were given N600,000 cheque each to execute their projects for the next six months.
The first group also received N1 million and additional N5 million from the governor for entrepreneurship in biogas, the second got N500, 000 while the third group received N250, 000. (NAN)