By Chioma Nnodim
Helpline Foundation for the Needy, a non-governmental body, has organised vocational skill acquisition for 25 Abuja indigenes in bag-making and fishery production as part of activities marking the UN World Youth Skills Day.
In her remarks, the President of Helpline Foundation, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, said the objective of the World Youth Skills Day was to create awareness about technical, vocational education training and the development of other skills relevant to both local and global economies.
Ahmadu who was represented by Mr Mohammed Isa Mohammed, noted that the day was set out to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, entrepreneurship, as well as provision of unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training, TVET, institutions, firms, employers and policymakers.
She identified youth unemployment as the most significant problem facing contemporary economies and societies in the world for developed and developing countries alike saying there had been an upward trend in the Number of youth not in Employment, Education, or Training, NEET, which climbed to 273 million in 2021 above the 259 million young people who were classified as NEET in 2016.
Ahmadu said that in terms of percentage, the trend was slightly up from 21.7 per cent in 2015 to 22.4 percent in 2020 which implied that the international target to reduce the NEET rate by 2020 would be missed.
She tasked the participants to shun vices and focus on building their lives for better future saying the Helpline Foundation would provide them with experts in the field that will guide and make them become the best in the field.
