SKILLS ACQUISITION AND ENTREPRENUERIAL DEVELOPMENT
SKILL ACQUISTION AND ENTERPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT FOR FEMALE YOUTHS
It is no longer news that 80 percent of Nigerian youths are unemployed. This trend is as a result of the economic downturn the country is facing recently, which have given rise to limited employment opportunities for its youths. Therefore in other for the youths to be engaged and not involve themselves in social vices that endanger their lives and become a menace to the society, there arise the need for skills acquisition. Skill is very important in the life of every human being. The reason why technicians earns more than some university graduates is because the technician acquire more practical skills than the theories, unlike the graduates who were fed with theoretical experiences while in the universities, the skills acquired can take you to places you do not expect you will find yourself. The truth remains that the major causes of unemployment among these vibrant youths is lack of skill to back up what they have learnt from their institution of learning. When these graduates were still in School, they did not bother to learn at least one single skill, maybe that which is related graphic designing, typing, hairdressing, fashion designing, bakery, electrical maintenance, phone repairing, cookery /catering, bag and shoe making, home cleaning experts, cosmetology, decorations, event planning and many others. If they have learnt any skill at all, the rate of unemployment will reduce among them.
"Skilled person can survive in any environment". As water is very essential to human life, so is skill training and acquisition needed in the life of every serious minded human being. Skills can do a lot of great work in the life of living soul. Lack of entrepreneurial skills is one of the major causes of unemployment. For these reasons Development Education Centre (DEC Enugu) for the past 3 decades engaged in the provision of entrepreneurial skills acquisition programme which empowered over 400 out of school female youths from 500 communities in the south eastern states of Nigeria since its inception. This programme is geared towards breeding young female entrepreneurs who from the skills they have acquired at DEC Enugu become more self-reliant and employers of labour. The main objective of the programme is to fight abject poverty in the rural community and reduce crime, prostitution, child trafficking and unwanted pregnancy among our female youths in the society. Self-reliance is a state or condition whereby an individual or group of persons having achieved such a state where he/she no longer depend on the benevolence or assistance of 3rd parties to secure individual or group interest. In other to achieve this objective, DEC engages the young women/female youths in the following skills:
- Fashion and Designing
- Computer and Graphics Arts Design
- Leather works
- Hair Dressing and Beauty care
- Catering and Bakery Craft practice, Cosmetology and Event Planning.
FASHION AND DESIGNING DEPARTMENT
In this department the trainee will be engaged in learning the skill of sewing both male and female wears for the period of 2 years. The curriculum is designed in such a way that trainee who is a novice before the training, will master all the rudiments and techniques involved in sewing which will enable her to become self-reliant in the future. With our professional trainers and well equipped centre, the trainee within the period of her stay, can boldly sew different styles and designs in rogue; which comprises of senators wears, shirts and trousers of different materials, women blouses, princess cut, paddled blouses etc any style for both male and female.
LEATHER WORKS (BAG AND SHOE MAKING)
In this department, DEC Enugu train our trainees for a period of 6 months to be second to none in production of products such as travelling bags, school bags, souvenir bags, purses (of different shapes and sizes) male and female footwear comprising of sandals, pan, slippers etc.
HAIR DRESSING & BEAUTY CARE
The trainee in this department undergo her training for the period of 1 year where she will be equipped with the knowledge of hair making of different styles, plaiting of braids, dreads, ghana wearing, Bob Marley, weaving, retouching of hair, washing and setting or hair, jerly curl style, pedicure and manicure etc. The trainee will also undergo training in make up to also enable them face the test of time, there is also production of hair piece known as wigs & weavons, which is popular in today's market.
COMPUTER AND GRAPHICS ARTS DESIGN
Almost every human endeavour, entails the use of computer, as none of the sector can survive or succeed without making use of it. That was why DEC Enugu includes its training in the centre. Also knowledge of graphic design arts helps the trainees to make customized shirts, bags, notepad, souvenir Calender etc
CATERING, BAKERY & CRAFT PRACTICES & EVENT PLANNING
This area comprises of different aspects of bakery:
- Cake Making, Dessert Cakes, small chops, chin-chin, meat pie, Scotch egg, fish pie, spring roll, sausage roll etc.
- Cooking of both local and continental dishes.
- Decoration
- Cosmetology: soap making, disinfectants, creams, detergents etc.
DEC Skills acquisition also offers opportunity for trainees especially those in computer, leather works and catering to be engaged in industrial training (IT) with reputable agencies and organization for improved skill and perfection of what they have learnt in their training workshop for a period of 6 months. All these skills were packaged in a way that will enable the participant become self-reliance in the nearest future.
However, DEC Enugu also offers an opportunity for young active mothers to be empowered through their various crash programmed trainings organized in various rural communities; this trainings enabled them to improve themselves economically, they also acquire skills and use them to alleviate their poverty while residing in their communities.
From June 2017- May 2021, a total of 163 young women successfully trained and completed their apprenticeship while a total of 375 unskilled mothers from various communities working with DEC were trained and are now engaged in the production of the learned products which has improved their economic potentials in their families.
A total number of 45 female youths are wage employed based on the learned skill and a total of 92 are self-employed in their various skills.
The self-employed female youths are now, agents of change in their various communities as some of them work as shoemakers which hitherto are seen as make Profession. They as well train other female youths in their learned profession. Equipments and free interest learns were given to the graduating students to enable them take off smoothly. DEC in the same rain introduced Business Education for these youths to empower them with the needed knowledge and understanding on how to do business in a tough economy like Nigeria. The importance of Entrepreneurial skill development in the society today cannot be over emphasized because gone are the days when jobs were available everywhere both in the private and public sectors of the economy and employers go about looking for potential graduates for employment. The question of choice of job or the type of employer the one would like is now a story after graduation is now thing of the old.
Therefore, the need to acquire and develop specific entrepreneurial skills cannot be neglected because it is vital to creating employment and indeed a special form of employability for youths and graduates as well. A skillful person speaks with confidence while the unskillful is filled with fear. Therefore, friends learned or not, are hereby encouraged to go for skills acquisition because good and lucrative skills acquired can make ways where it seems there is no way.