Abia Partners OPS to Tackle Youth Unemployment

After rolling out a programme aimed at giving youths vocational skills, the Abia state government has moved to partner the organized private sector (OPS) for successful implementation of the Education for Employment (E4E) programme.

At a stakeholders meeting at the commercial city of Aba the OPS under the aegis of Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA) was specifically urged to play a crucial role to create a sustainable way of tackling unemployment in the state.

Already, over 34, 000 Abia youths across the 17 local governments have registered for the E4E programme and after acquiring the needed skills tailored to meet the demands of the industries they would either be absorbed by the OPS or empowered for self employment.

The state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu explained that the problem of unemployment has grown beyond what the government can tackle alone hence the need for the OPS to key into the initiative to get the youths off the streets and curb crimes in the society.

He said that while government was doing everything possible to grow the economy of Abia, the organized private sector must play a pivotal role to drive the economy of the state.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu said that the industrial sector has every thing to gain by keying into the E4E programme as it would ensure a sustainable supply of needed manpower to drive the industries and reduce crime thereby creating conducive environment for businesses to thrive.

“By absorbing them (trained youths) you would have helped to reduce crime
rate in the state,” he said.
He noted that Abia was already ahead in the efforts to revive vocational education even though a presidential directive was recently issued to that effect for the ministry of education to take action, adding, “We are ahead of the presidential directive as we had done that many months ago”.

ACCIMA President, Sir Emma Nwakpadulu commended Abia government for initiating the E4E programme and pledged the readiness of the OPS to ensure that the programme was implemented successfully.

The coordinator of E4E, Endi Ezengwa said that the programme has come to put an end to the era when youths pass through secondary education without acquiring useful skills with which to earn a living.

He said that the vocational schools in the state have been prepared for the training of the youths while the State Polytechnic and the College of Education, would not only be involved in training the youths but also the instructors.

Ezengwa specifically stated that the industries operating in the state were expected to absorb the trained youths, adding that while working and receiving training at the industries they would be attached the youths would be paid stipends.
He said that the OPS stood to receive assistance to grow their businesses and urged the operators to organise and make their financial books straight so that government could assist them international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank [ADB].