Enugu: NGO provides free vocational training for 4,500 youths, women
An Enugu-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Potters Wheel Foundation (PWF), says it has provided free vocational training for 4,500 youths and women, in order to reduce unemployment and crime in the country.
Mr Godson Onuzulike the President of the organisation said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, in Enugu.
According to him, since 2020, PWF, in partnership with the Enugu Ministry of Youths and Sports, set out to train and provide no fewer than 8,500 women and youth with vocational skills.
He said the organisation had trained over 4,500 youths and women on how to make cakes, meat pie and other pie families, doughnut, samosa, spring roll, chin-chin and peanut.
“We are equally training them on making Scotch egg, bread, cookies, alcohol-based hand sanitisers, antibacterial hand wash, car wash and liquid soap.
“Others include body wash, tile wash, toilet wash, insecticide, rodenticide, carrot oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, laundry tablet soap, bleach, detergent, antiseptics, disinfectants, odour control, organic soap and organic cream’’, he said.
The training, according to him, involves production, packaging and marketing, so that they can individually go into the market and become bosses of their own.
He listed Enugu, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Lagos as states where they had trained people, adding that their online training had touched other states of the country.
Onwuzulike emphasised on the need for well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to support it for more people to be engaged.
“Currently, we are being financed by support from some individuals that love what we are doing and I am happy to announce that Nigeria Breweries has pledged to empower 40 of our trainees,” he said.
Onuzulike said that many youths in the country were unemployed and lacked idea on how to get out of the problem.
He said that unemployment gives birth to poverty, while poverty leads to crime and crime instigates insecurity as is being experiencing in the country.
“So, we discovered there are a lot of things youths can do to fetch themselves money and the only way to make it is to add value.
“My wife and I decided to close that vacuum by engaging them on free vocational and entrepreneurial training that will make them self-reliant’’, he said.
Onuzulike said most of the things used by households in the country were imported or produced by the multinational companies but could be produced by the youths if trained on how to make them.
He said that with such training, many unemployed youths and women could learn, and under three months, begin to contribute to the economy. (NAN)
