LASG retrained 3,500 artisans in three years – official

Thu, Mar 21, 2019 | By publisher


Politics

The Lagos State Government says it retrained 3,500 traders and artisans in the state between 2016 and 2018 on sustainable wealth, productivity and economic growth.

Mrs Taiwo Abiose, the Director, Entrepreneurship Development Department in the state Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

According to the breakdown, 500 artisans were retrained in 2016, 1,500 in 2017 and another 1,500 in 2018.

Abiose said that the eight weekends of re-skilling training programme exposed the trainees to the latest trends in their sectors and international best practices that would enhance their competitiveness and worth.

She told NAN that the capacity building initiative of empowering traders and artisans was solely sponsored by the state  government and handled by the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Educational Board (LASTVEB).

“It was identified that many local artisans lack some prerequisite skills which has resulted in the patronage of artisans from neighbouring countries.

“The curriculum of the programme is well-conceived to bridge these skills gap requirements and equip participants with technical and entrepreneurial skills,” she said.

Abiose said that the upskilling exposed the participants to strategies to develop a business plan and access loan from the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) for business expansion.

According to her, the ministry has developed a compendium which has a list of over 25,000 registered members of various associations to facilitate easy and convenient access for people who required reliable and verified service providers in any part of the state.

“We need to standardise things in the state and ensure that things are done right.

“Very soon in the state, any artisan that is not registered or undergone the re-skilling programme will not be allowed to practice.

“We are working on passing a bill to that effect and this will help to eliminate quackery in the state,” she said. (NAN)

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