The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has urged corps members to utilise the opportunities provided by the scheme through the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) to become job creators, as the era of waiting salaried jobs at the end of the national service year is now effectively ended.
SAED National Director, Mr Kehinde Aremu, who made the call on Monday – earlier today at the flag-off ceremony of the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Stream II SAED in-camp training programme at the NYSC camp in Wannune, Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State, explained that SAED was established to cater to the needs of corps members, providing them with the opportunity to learn various skills that would be immensely beneficial even after their service year.
With the rate of unemployment very high, it is in the best interest of corps members to acquire skills in order to beat joblessness after national service, Aremu emphasized.
“The significance of acquiring skills in today’s world cannot be overemphasised as we continue to face a high unemployment rate, driven in part by the growing number of graduates without corresponding job opportunities.
“The over-reliance on limited white-collar jobs has prompted the establishment of the SAED initiative.
“It is designed to address these challenges and empower you to become self-sufficient, innovative, and capable of contributing to Nigeria’s economic development as job creators rather than job seekers.
“The SAED programme’s mission is to create a platform that will facilitate access for young graduates to the essential skills and resources necessary for successful entrepreneurship as a means of enhancing national development,” Aremu explained.
Disclosing that corps members would be introduced to 11 skill sets, each with its respective sub-skill areas, during the training for their choice and participation, Aremu said soft loans would be available for serious-minded participants through SAED collaborating partners such as the Central Bank, the Bank of Industry, and many others.
He, therefore, urged them to equip themselves with the skills, which he pointed out would become handy in the absence of white-collar jobs.
For her part, the Benue State Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs Veronica Garba, who lauded the SAED initiative, urged corps members to leverage the programme to become self-sufficient and employers of labour after their service year.
A cross-section of corps members who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) expressed excitement about the SAED, saying that no ex-corps member would have an excuse for being jobless anymore.
A corps member, Miss Maureen Michael, who is a graduate of the University of Calabar, commended the NYSC for the SAED programme, saying that she does not have to wait for the government before she earns money after service.
Another corps member, Mr Solomon Oke, who is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, said that SAED has given him the opportunity to become a chief executive officer after service.
Motivational lectures were given by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and an ex-corps member turned SAED facilitator, Miss Mary Adoche.
