Oyo State Celebrates World Youth Skills Day with Free Vocational Training for Over 400 Youth

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Monday emphasized the importance of vocational skill acquisition for youth as a means to combat poverty and unemployment, encouraging them to become productive members of society.

The governor’s remarks were made during a vocational training program organized by Aminat Aderayo Animasaun, CEO of De’rayo Vocational Limited, in collaboration with the state government to celebrate the 2024 World Youth Skills Day. The event was held at the Amphitheatre, Racecourse, Adamasingba, Ibadan.

Represented by the Chairman of the Oyo State Agency for Youth, Hon. Falana Adebayo, Governor Makinde praised the initiative for complementing the state government’s job creation efforts aimed at reducing youth unemployment.

“I must confess, it is a laudable event seeing the youth of the state come together to learn one or two skills organized by De’rayo. Coming here and seeing this, I was amazed. The passion in them boosts my morale, and from the government angle, we are ready to do more of this often so that we can impact more lives through one skill or another,” Makinde stated.

He further advised the youth to prioritize acquiring vocational skills as a foundation for financial stability, especially in the current economic climate, rather than solely relying on white-collar jobs.

“My message to the youth is that after graduating from school, instead of seeking white-collar jobs, everyone must have one or two skills that will serve as a foundation for their financial strength. With the way the economy is going, they should not rely on white-collar jobs alone. I am imploring the youth out there to participate en masse in subsequent skill acquisition programs like this,” he said.

Aminat Aderayo Animasaun, the program’s initiator and CEO of De’rayo Vocational Limited, revealed that over 400 participants were trained in 28 different vocational skills, including textile design, shoemaking, makeup and gele tying, bead making, cosmetology, fashion design, digital marketing, barbing, hairdressing, and photography, among others.

“We are here to celebrate vocational skills. Today is July 15, 2024, World Youth Skills Day, which is recognized by the United Nations and celebrated all over the world. We are representing our community, Oyo State, and Ibadan, and are happy to host the youth from different local governments. We are training them in 28 different vocational skills. We are not only training them; we are inspiring, mentoring, and linking them to trainers to become great leaders in the field of vocational skills,” Animasaun said.

She also announced scholarships for vocational training will be awarded to 105 youth across the local governments in the state for a six-month vocational training program, after which they will be empowered.

“This is our sixth edition, and I am delighted to host over 400 participants. We planned for 400, but we have exceeded that number,” she added.

Animasaun expressed gratitude for the support from the state Agency for Youth Development and the trainers, encouraging the youth to view vocational skills as a viable path to success.

One of the volunteers and trainers, Saidat Dauda, CEO of Abisal Megatop Limited, highlighted that participants were trained on transforming local crops into finished products such as flour, as well as marketing and showcasing their skills to the community.

She urged beneficiaries to continually upgrade their vocational skills and apply them for societal improvement.

Trainees Adeniran Bayonle and Tomorrow Hasan described the program as enlightening and urged other youth to acquire vocational skills to become valuable members of society.