By ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU
At least Two hundred (200) Kwara State youths have benefitted from a free training programme in four areas of Data Analysis, to boost their employment opportunities.
Speaking at the launch in Ilorin, Director of Ilorin Innovation Hub, Zuma Yahaya, said the programme was created to move beyond skills acquisition and focus directly on job creation.
According to her, the programme organized by the Ilorin Innovation Hub is a Kwara State Government initiative supported by IHS Nigeria in the first cohort of its Technical Workforce Development Programme (TWDP) which included programme in four areas of Data Analysis, Virtual Assistance, Content Creation and Digital Marketing.
Yahaya also said the organization has set a target of securing paid employment for at least 50 per cent of the 200 participants within six months of completing the training.
“The 12-week programme is designed to bridge the gap between digital skills acquisition and actual employment opportunities for young people”, she said, adding that participants were selected from more than 5,000 applications received for the programme.
She also said after commencing operations last year, the Hub focused on building the innovation ecosystem through incubation, acceleration and other programmes, but recognised that developing the ecosystem without creating economic opportunities for young people would not be enough.
“We can’t talk about building the ecosystem without actually creating jobs”, Yahaya said.
The Director explained that the programme TWDP was developed after research into skills that organisations currently need and which young people can acquire within a relatively short period.
She said the programme combines technical training, soft skills and employability readiness, stressing that the objective was not merely to train participants but to connect them with employers.
Yahaya disclosed that a career fair would be organised after the training, bringing employers from Nigeria and other parts of the world, both physically and virtually, to assess participants’ skills and portfolios and identify talents they could engage.
She urged the beneficiaries to take the opportunity seriously, noting that the absence of tuition fees should not make them treat the training casually.
Yahaya said the programme was designed to expose participants to opportunities beyond their immediate environment and equip them with skills that could improve their career and earning prospects.
One of the participants, Lawal Opeyemi, a public speaker and entrepreneur, said she joined the programme after recognising the need to strengthen her marketing knowledge.
Opeyemi said she had been approaching companies to help them build their brands but realised that knowledge of branding alone was not enough without a proper understanding of marketing.
She described the training as a major opportunity to improve her capacity, create value for businesses and increase her earning potential.
Editing by BASIRAT MEMUDU
