A two-day training programme on entrepreneurship and business management has been organized for 41 graduates of the Delta State Government’s Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP.)
The training which took place at the Conference Hall of the Office of the Chief Job Creation Officer, Asaba was organised for Green STEPreneurs who have completed their vocational skills training for six months in ICT; Fashion Design and Tailoring; Welding and Fabrication; Electrical Installation and Photography in different training centres across the state.
Speaking on behalf of the Office of the Chief Job Creation Officer, the Co-ordinator of STEP, Mr Onyeisi Nkenchor, reaffirmed that the state government through the office has successfully trained 1, 180 youths under its STEP and YAGEP in the 2018/2019 Programme Cycle, out of which 1,139 of them have been established with starter packs to begin their businesses.
Mr Nkenchor said the 41 STEPreneurs for which the Entrepreneurship and Business Management Training (EBMT) was being organised marked the end of the 2018/2019 cycle.
He added that the state government has introduced a Post-Training Proficiency Test to ensure quality assurance for the programme, congratulating the participants on their success at the proficiency test and for going through the various stages in the programme successfully.
He explained that the EBMT is a critical component in the training programme which would expose them to basic principles and practices for entrepreneurship and to how to start, manage, fund, grow and market their businesses.
Speaking differently, some of the beneficiaries, Chinasa Illoba in Fashion Design and Tailoring (Ika North East), Biegba Akporike in Welding and Fabrication (Ughelli South) and Gillow ThankGod in Photography (Bomadi) expressed their gratitude to the state government for the opportunity to be trained to become entrepreneurs, appealing that more unemployed youths be engaged to reduce youth unemployment.
It would be recalled that the Delta State Government though its Office of the Chief Job Creation Officer has trained and established 4,253 youths under its STEP, YAGEP and GEEP including Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in its first tenure.