THE Lagos State Government has kicked off the ‘Jobs Initiative Lagos’ programme for youths in eight Lagos-based tertiary institutions.
The programme was designed as a complementary training for students in final and penultimate year in entrepreneurship, employability and basic digital skills required for the workplace.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, noted that the essence of the programme was to fill the documented gaps in the current curriculum, which was essential in the employment market and which would enhance the employability of graduates in Nigeria’s Centre of Excellence.
He said candidates who registered through www.jobsinlagos.ng and were able to complete the programme would get an opportunity to be featured on the jobs portal from where partner corporate organisations could select fresh graduates for recruitment.
According to him, students in secondary schools in Lagos will have access to well-trained instructors while those out of school will be able to access digital skills training and various internship opportunities as they complete the programmes.
“The projects are being coordinated by LoftyInc Allied Partners Limited – an innovative development company that grows start-up teams, manages innovation programmes and facilitates impact projects in West Africa,” he said.
The Special Adviser averred that LoftyInc, an award-winning pioneer in Nigeria’s innovation sector, was in partnership with Microsoft, VMware’s IT Academy, Wennovation Hub, LoftyInc Capital Management and a host of other corporates.
Wahab explained that the first phase of the ‘Jobs Initiatives Lagos’ kicked off in June and would continue over the next four months, leveraging on the virtual learning platform, while the ‘Digital Skills Initiative Lagos’ would commence virtually until the ease of the lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He maintained that the two programmes were in sync with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the present administration in Lagos State, wherein Education is a key pillar with a multiplier effect on human capital development and ecosystem.
The programmes, which are initiatives of the Lagos State Ministry of Education, are being supervised and coordinated by the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Tokunbo Wahab.
