The Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI), on Saturday, July 20, 2024, held a closing ceremony for the Empowerskill initiative project for informal workers in Edo State.
The event, which took place at MIDTOWN TECH HUB, located at Etete Road, GRA, Benin City, the Edo State capital, saw hundreds of participants from various informal sectors of the economy gather to celebrate their successful training.
Speaking with journalists at the event, Adaku Ekwueme, a Fellow of Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI), stated that the just concluded Empowerskill initiative was aimed at training workers in the informal sector and provides necessary structures for them.
She said, “The event that we just concluded is the Empowerskill initiative and it was funded by the Carrington Youth Fellowship. The whole idea or aim of the event is to train informal workers to build a structure in their business. Apart from the fact that informal workers lack structures for their businesses, they account for at least 60% of the GDP in Nigeria.
“But unfortunately, their businesses never stand the test of time because they don’t have structures. So part of the things we did in this training was to talk about structures that will enable their business to stand the test of time because things are changing and except for proper structure, it will be difficult for small businesses to stay and last longer in society as well as our nation.”
Ekwueme commended the participants’ interest and willingness to learn during the course of the training programme. She stated that this is the pilot phase of the programme and they look forward to having more trainings as time goes on.
“For now what we have done is that we have concluded the pilot phase and this will allow us to assess the participation, assess the impact and then evaluate if we have gotten the exact things we set out to achieve from the beginning and then we implement changes incrementally. So subsequently, we will still have trainings for informal artisans,” she said.
She thanked the organisers, Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative of the US Consulate in Lagos, and their partners, Edo State Board for Technical and Vocational Education (BTVE) and EDOJOBS, for making the programme a success.
Earlier, the Director of Planning and Strategic Coordination, Edo State Board for Technical and Vocational Education (BTVE), Blessing Odion, admonished participants to put to proper use the training they have received. She further stated that the Board for Technical and Vocational Education is the only approved board for technical and vocational education in the state and therefore charged the participants to always visit the board for more trainings and opportunities.
Odion said that the board has five educational centres in the state, as well as the work centre which consists of training and apprenticeship. She commended Governor Obaseki for prioritising skills acquisition and skills development in Edo State.
One of the participants, Olufemi Arinde, a shoemaker, thanked the organisers for putting the programme together, saying he has benefited a lot from the programme.
He said, “In all sincerity I was able to achieve a lot from this programme. Normally I have been hearing a lot of things like this and I have been hiding under the umbrella of excuses but this programme has actually impacted me.
‘The programme reminded me of a lot of things and forced me to go into action, especially in the area of communication and activeness on social media to promote my business. So I want to say a big thank you to the organisers of this programme for actually helping us the SME players in the state.“
Also, another participant, Merit Osayuwamen, a shoe and bag maker, commended the organisers of the programme, stating that she has attended many eye-opening programmes but this one is different.
Highlight of the closing ceremony was the presentation of certificates to participants, testimonies by participants, goodwill messages as well as refreshments.
