Ten European companies will on 8 November launch a youth programme in Enugu to train, empower and recruit skilled labour.

Launch Skills Acquisition Programme
– Establish European Business Park
, and
Entrepreneurship Promotion Centre

The private sector partners are collaborating with Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu on an integrated project that benefits them, the youths, and Nigerian teachers.

Their overall goal is to empower the youths with skills that will give them opportunity to be legally employed as skilled labour in Nigeria and Europe.

The partners hope that this will discourage migration of unskilled youth labour to Europe.

It is an ambitious integrated programme comprising a European Business Park, the skills acqusition training, and an entrepreneurship support centre.

The three projects will be co-located within and around GO University’s second Campus in Enugu, Nigeria.

Consequently, GO University has established a Centre of Practical Skills (CoPS) to train youths under the programme.

The European partners expect the University to train and award vocational certifcates “that address the needs of the private sector.”

About120 youths will initially be trained in five high-demand technical job areas, especially in the construction sector.

Subsequently, the number will increase to 200-250 persons per year with “additional job profiles for agriculture, food processing, textiles, and IT.”

The training will eventually be conducted nationwide as affiliate training centres are established in other zones of the country.

Prof. Christian Anieke, Vice Chancellor of GO University, confirmed the development in Abuja yesterday, 19 October.

He described the centre as a unique intervention that helps Nigerian youths to compete favourably with their European counterparts.

He also announced that the skill acquisition training will begin 18 November 2021 with a groundbreaking performance in Enugu.

He believes that up to 5,000 youths could be trained in various skills needed by the 10 European partners in the project within five years.

The training, he said, will be aligned with the needs of the European companies to make it easy for trainees to gain employment.

Encouraging skilled migrations

The European private sector partners

GO University trainees under the programme will be awarded European certifications to ensure that they are employable in Europe, if they chose to leave the country.

The partners however plan to employ majority of the trainees in the local Business Park.

Budding entrepreneurs among them will be referred to the Start-Up Centre to apply for loans to start their own business. They could also be encouraged to create joint ventures with the European investors.”

Documents sighted by Enugu Metro show that the skills training will combine theoretical classroom sessions with practical traineeships at partner companies’ facilities.

Its curricula were also said to have been jointly developed with European training institutions and companies.

European companies recruit from Enugu

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