The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) said it has granted over 85 million naira in loans to her graduated trainees under the Environmental Beautification Training Scheme (EBTS).
According to the directorate, the loan facilities consist of basic working tools and cash components and were to be disbursed to 494 beneficiaries in the six geo-political zones across the country under the Special Public Works (SPW) programme.
The EBTS concept includes beautification of Streets, construction of parks, and gardens, tree planting, production of blocks, interlocking stones, tiling works and Plaster of Paris (POP).
A statement by the NDE head, press and public relations, Israel Adekitan noted that the directorate had in November 2022 concluded three months EBTS skills training 1,110 unemployed youths in 36 states and the FCT Abuja on the quota of 30 participants per state.
According to the director-general NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, the directorate is proposing to empower 962 graduated trainees out of the 1,110 participants but could only resettle only 494 due to budgetary constraints.
He said the other 470 graduated trainees will be empowered at future date.
The basic objective of the loan disbursement exercise, according to him, is to create jobs especially self-employment for the trained participants and help them become self-reliant.
He added that the EBTS loan disbursement exercise will create pool of entrepreneurs that will soon become employers of labour in Nigeria.
The director of special public works programme, Olaomi Roseline Silvia, said the loan disbursement exercise will cover Nineteen states from the six geo-political zones of Nigeria namely; Adamawa, Borno, Taraba, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Kebbi.
She said 26 people per state are to benefit from the phase one empowerment exercise using the 50 percent budget released.
Between Depleting Workforce And Declining Productivity