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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government is to train 200 youths in Oyo State in vocational and digital skills and provide them with laptops, sewing machines, makeup kits and other start-up tools to enable them establish or expand businesses.
The initiative, which begins September 28 under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), will train beneficiaries in Graphics/Artificial Intelligence (AI), Makeup and Fashion Designing, with each participant receiving tools relevant to the acquired skill at the end of the programme.
Another 500 tablets will be distributed to young Nigerians at the programme’s graduation and grand finale on October 9 as part of the government’s digital empowerment drive.
The programme is being implemented through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (OSSAP-TVEE) and will run from September 28 to October 9, 2026.
Under the arrangement, beneficiaries trained in Graphics/AI will receive laptops, those in Makeup will get fully equipped makeup kits, while Fashion Designing trainees will receive sewing machines and starter kits.
The government said the initiative would subsequently be replicated across the six geopolitical zones to widen access to practical skills, productive equipment and sustainable livelihood opportunities among young Nigerians.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Dr Abiola Arogundade, said the intervention was designed to move beneficiaries beyond skills acquisition by providing them with the tools to put their training to economic use.
According to her, the programme reflects the government’s focus on technical and vocational skills and entrepreneurship as pathways to greater economic participation and improved livelihoods.
The Oyo phase will combine classroom and practical training with the direct provision of productive assets, enabling beneficiaries to move from learning a trade to establishing or expanding an enterprise.
The government said the intervention formed part of the NPRGS efforts to support skills development, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood opportunities for Nigerian youths.
