Embrace Vocational Skills, Gowon Urges Youths

Former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon has urged Nigerian youths to embrace vocational training and skills in order to be self-sufficient and employers of labour.

Gowon made the appeal on Wednesday in Abuja, while inaugurating the NYSC Information Communication Technology (ICT) centre.

Gowon, who is the Founder, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), also inaugurated the scheme’s Skills Acquisition and Empowerment Development (SAED) Programme exhibition.

According to him, embracing vocational skills was the best avenue to achieve financial independence instead of searching for the non-available white-collar jobs.

“The introduction of SAED into the orientation course content of the NYSC since 2012 has been a blessing especially the acquisition of skills by a large number of corps members that passed through the scheme.

“The programme has created lots of job opportunities for many of our youths who are now business owners in different locations and also employers of labour.”

He added that the digitisation of the NYSC mobilisation process since 2014 was another attestation to the improvement of the scheme operations.

Gowon said that digitisation has made the registration of prospective corps members from any part of the globe a seamless exercise.

“The monthly clearance for corps members and other numerous ICT related activities on the NYSC NIS platform are worthy of commendation.

“I have no doubt that this ultra-modern ICT Centre that will be inaugurated today would be a major boost in this regard.”

He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the proposed NYSC Trust Fund Bill.