By Chukwuma Umeorah
On-going nationwide youth empowerment and training programme by the Federal Government through the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) berthed in Katsina State as about 100 youths including women were given new skills in modern methods of tailoring and fashion design and its applications.
Advanced sewing machines including modern equipment used for tailoring, design, trending embroidery machines worth millions of naira were handed over to the beneficiaries of the scheme with other starter packs to help them expand their businesses.
Speaking at the event, held in Daura, Katsina State, yesterday, Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, while declaring the training opened said that Tailoring and fashion Design as a vocation had evolved over time and the trade had embraced advancements in technology and innovation, therefore, practitioners in the trade needed constant upgrade of their skills in order for them to keep pace with modern trends and to continue to be relevant in business. He said because the profession of fashion and design are closely tied to supply of daily needs of clothing, therefore, the profession is very lucrative, thereby encouraging the youths to continue to embrace it.
According to Prof. Haruna, the only missing link for the practitioners is “the absence of application of modern tools, techniques, creativity and capacity to deploy modern design techniques and use of advanced sewing machines and other modern tools for growth and business expansion” He said that these gaps observed with the operations by the practitioners were the areas that President Muhammadu Buhari directed NASENI to fill for the women and youths in Daura, Katsina State and the environs.
One of the focal points of the Buhari Administration and promise to the youths was the creation of 10 million jobs before the of the tenure of Administration. Prof. Haruna told the training participants that “it is important to note that the business of fashion and design is both lucrative and volatile, because it is about style, trend and human taste that are constantly changing by the day.