The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is to commence post camp training for corps members serving in North East zone.
Mr David Markson, the Gombe State Coordinator of the scheme, said that program was aimed at making corps members learn trades that would help them augment their monthly stipends and prepare them to be self reliant.
Markson said this on Monday in Gombe at the opening ceremony of Skill Acquisition on-camp Training for 2019 Batch B Stream II Corps Members deployed to the State in Amada Temporary NYSC orientation camp.
He said that the Director General of NYSC had directed the commencement of the Post Camp Training at Northeast Integration Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Centre located in Gombe.
He said that the training centre was donated by Access Bank as part of its social responsibility projects to assist in making corps members self sustaining and employers of labour.
Markson said the training would be in batches to enable corps members within the Northeast geo-political zone gain experience in skills that would be beneficial and sustainable.
“With the dearth of employment opportunities, the National Youth Service Corps introduced the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme into the orientation course contents in 2012.
“The Programme has created entrepreneurs and employers of labour as corps members are exposed to the 12 set skills with sub-sets for self-reliance,” he said.
The coordinator advised corps members to take advantage of the 10-day free training to be given by qualified trainers.
He said gone were the days when graduates depended on government for white collar jobs.
“The ball is in your court to learn a skill or two in order to augment your allowance and be employers of labour ” he said.
Mrs Nkiru Mmadumbu, the Head of Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development, NYSC Gombe, urged the corps members to say no to dependence on government and say yes to learning a skill.
According to her, the management of NYSC has plans for them to be self-reliant, hence the need to learn a skill today and smile tomorrow as employers of labour
