Lagos Corps Member Charged To See SAED as Platform For Economic Growth

Director, Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development(SAED), at the National Directorate Headquarters of NYSC, Mr. Kayode Aremu, has urged 2024 Batch “C” Stream II Corps Members at the ongoing Orientation Course to view the platform offered by the Skill Acquisition programme of the NYSC as a platform for personal and economic growth.

He said this during the opening ceremony of the 10-day SAED programme. The address which was delivered by the State Coordinator NYSC Lagos, Mrs Christiana Salmwang, urged the corps members to explore skills in fields such as ICT, Agro-allied, construction, Automobile, Power and Energy, Food Processing and Preservation, Cosmetology, Delivery and Logistics.

He highlighted the unique value of the free training during camp, which would otherwise be costly. She advised participants to select skills aligned with their interests and assured them of ongoing support from NYSC partners through grants and loans to Kickstart their ventures.

Also, giving credence to the statement of the Director, an ex-corps member of the scheme in Lagos, and the CEO of Shoe-Speed, a shoe-manufacturing establishment, Mr Abiodun Folawiyo, has told the corps members to embrace entrepreneurship, stating that the best thing that can happen to them is to become an entrepreneur and creator of wealth.

He made a reference to his rise in the shoe-manufacturing industry and how he ended up not working for anyone but someone who employs others. He urged the corps members pay attention to the teachings in camp and acquire a skill during the service year.

Another guest speaker during the programme, Mr Tim Akano, CEO, New Horizons, have told the corps members the importance of acquiring in-demand skills such as AI, data engineering, cyber security, and UI/UX  design, stating that these skills other than what they studied in school can quickly translate to wealth if they can acquire them.

He however advised the corps members to be patient and resilient, emphasizing that it takes an average of 13 years to build success in any endeavour.

The opening ceremony also had sensitization of the corps members from the National Directorate of Employment which was anchored by Mr Chike Ajaegbu and another sensitization by the representative of Wema Bank, Mrs Helen Badejo, who introduced the business plan competition to the corps members, a competition which is poised to award the winning corps members a sum of 2.5 million naira.

Meanwhile, earlier, while delivering her introductory address, Head of SAED on Camp, Mrs Stella Nweke, said the SAED programme is a strategic step to tackle unemployment by equipping corps members with marketable skills. She emphasized on the importance of registering for preferred skills on the SAED dashboard and pinpointed that over 100 training partners in Lagos are ready to guide corps members.