…as DESOPADEC Provides Starter Packs Worth Millions Of Naira To 4th Batch Of Its Skills Academy

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has said that skills training and entrepreneurship development is one of the surest ways of ridding our society of the scourge of youth unemployment and the attendant youth restiveness.

He noted that it was no longer a secret that many Nigerians were falling into the poverty bracket daily, adding that the percentage of the unemployed and underemployed was becoming worrisome in the country.

Oborevwori made this statement on Tuesday at the fourth graduation ceremony of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) Skills Academy held at the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

Oborevwori, who was represented by his Special Adviser on DESOPADEC, Rt Hon Basil Ganagana, said that with the Skills Academy, DESOPADEC is equipping the youths with the technical know-how, vocational skills, values, and resources to become wealth and job creators.

“The era of giving out hand-outs in the name of youth or women empowerment is over. We must equip our people with the soft skills – knowledge, mind-set change, personal development, and business/leadership skills – that will help them succeed in life.

“This mindset change is good for our people, and a motivation for this administration to continue to invest in these entrepreneurship development programmes,” Oborevwori said.

The Governor commended the Board and Management of DESOPDEC for their dedication and commitment to raising a new generation of entrepreneurial leaders and wealth creators.

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of DESOPADEC, Chief Festus Ochonogor, said he was glad to witness the graduation of the fourth batch of the DESOPADEC Skills Academy, stressing that it was a dream come true as they continue to faithfully and steadily drive their human capital development agenda which aligns with the M.O.R.E agenda of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.

Ochonogor said that as key participants within the global community, the policy intent of the Skill Academy found solid hinge on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) geared essentially at improving lives, boosting skills, becoming employers of labour, instead of becoming liabilities in a largely fractured contemporary social system.

“This is why the State government has committed huge sums of money in sustaining the STEP and YAGEP programmes at the state level.

“The feelers I have received from the monitors of the previous graduates of the Academy who are doing extremely well in their chosen skills across the State, have been glowingly encouraging and reassuring that we have not wasted scarce resources to commence the programme.

“Our rich bouquet starter packs procured at great cost and sacrifice by the Commission with the unalloyed executive backup of our dear Governor are instant statement that when we commit to a course with unbroken resolution. there is no looking back like Lot’s wife! I therefore use this medium to appeal to our children and wards to understand the dynamics of an interventionist agency like DESOPADEC and how we operate,” Ochonogor said.

Earlier Chief Favour Izoukumor, Executive Director, Social Services, DESOPADEC, said that the DESOPADEC Skills Academy was established with the vision of empowering individuals with the requisite knowledge and tools that will enable them to thrive in today’s competitive world.

He admonished the graduands to see the skills that they have acquired as not just for personal gain but should be seen as tools to uplift their communities, contribute to societal development, and create a lasting impact. He noted that each of the graduands have a unique story, a unique set of talents, and a unique purpose.

High point of the programme was the handing-over of comprehensive Starters Pack worth several millions of Naira to the fourth Batch of DESOPADEC Skills Academy.