Vocational Skill Training and Empowerment for the Youths

Training and empowering the vulnerable women in vocational skills in my community

Ikot Abasi Local Government Area is one of the local governments in Akwa Ibom State, covering an approximate land mass of 449km2 with 212,997 people living in 75 villages. There are creeks, rivulets, rivers, and streams, some of such empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

The LGA has reported increase in cases of school dropout and youths unemployment as a result of low government present in the hard-to reach communities, hence the youths especially the young women live in financially stretched households with little or no income and limited economic growth and development.

According to National Bureau of Statistics (2021), Akwa Ibom rated 67.69% on unemployment in Nigeria with the youths having 45.72%. Ikot Abasi LGA alone contributes 4.1% of unemployment and lack of employability skill to be relevant in the labour markets. This has set the pace for social vices, gender inequality among the youths in disadvantaged communities such as Ikot Abasi local government area.

On these notes, Umohrob Ventures Limited proposes to implement vocational skill training in Ikot Abasi LGA towards contributing to the realization of the set SDGs 1 and 2 before 2030.

We will set up Community Monitoring Team (CMT) in implementing the project. Other approaches revolves round conducting in-depth resources mapping of opportunities to link trained youths to available economic opportunities.

Umohrob Ventures Limited will train the vulnerable youths (women) in my community in vocational skills such food processing (bread production), confectionaries, fashion and design, ICT, soap production and basic financial literacy. The training will be carried out through Partner Collaborative Model (PCM). This model allows us to post our registered trainees to respective vocational training centres in communities (for one year training) closer to them to avoid unprepared transport expenses. Thereafter, community volunteers monitoring team will be set up to work with our monitoring team. Our trainers will be paid at reduced cost per area of training for effective management of cost. In the process of training, the trainees will examine with test and performance reports made every month in other to determine the best graduating trainees for empowerment. After the training, the best 5 trainees will be empowered with business tool kits to start their businesses.

The vocational skill training will benefit the vulnerable young women (18 – 40 years). About 100 women will be enrolled into the training project. They will acquire the vocational skills aforementioned and become relevant in the labour markets. They can use the acquired skill to work in private and public offices. They will stop roaming the street and be engaged in productive ventures thereby reducing social vices among the youths and improve their standard of living. 

The project will cost multiplier effect because other people(women) will be trained through them. Lots of young womenhave been deprived and marginalized in my community due to unskilled and lack of basic education cater for their needs. Thus, gender inequality is increasing because of no gender inclusive empowerment programme from the government for them to become leaders and managers in different capacities and functions.

Our team is well  positioned to carry out the project. We have the following team: Managing directors (degree holders) in project management, finance director, monitoring and evaluation director. All of them with over four to five years experience in entrepreneurship, training, vocational skill development and leadership capacity.

Our team has worked with similar project before. Thus, our wealth of experience and need assessment conducted with the community leaders and some women in the community and other nearby communities in February, 2022 affirmed that the women in my community needs vocational skill training.

We adopt Partner Collaborative Model (PCM). This model allows us to post our registered trainees or beneiciaries to respective vocational training centres in communities (for one year training) closer to them to avoid unprepared transport expenses. This model does not allow them to cluster in one place or training centre, which affects effective and efficient learning especially the practical aspects.

It will create multiplier effects, that is, the beneficiaries will start their own businesses and train others.

It will reduce social vices among the women by 10%

It will bring social and economic development of my community and state as a whole.

It will improve the livelihood of the women in the society.

It will actualize gender equality by 15%

It will reduce the rate of poverty in the community and state by 5%

We adopt machines, equipment, tools and techniques to provide the vocational training to the beneficiaries. It involves the use of technology, presentations, practicals, processes, procedures with machines to produce output(products and effective service delivery).

We are currently training 21  beneficiaries and we are planning to train 100 women including 10 women to be empowered with business tool kits in the next one year.

Financial challenge

Ministry of Education, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Mindset Entrepreneurship and Business Academy, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Ministry of Trade and Industry, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria