For effective startup, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has resettled 100 women that were trained by the Directorate in Bida local government area of Niger state.
Director General of the NDE, Kunle Obayan who carried out the handing over ceremony to the beneficiaries at the palace of the Etsu Nupe, argued that the empowerment of women is critical at this time that the nation is passing through economic challenges.
Obayan said while there is a urgent need to provide women with avenues through which they could fend for themselves and assist their families, the Directorate is taking deliberate efforts at involving women in the development processes of the country.
According to him, the training was done in collaboration with the Bida emirate, stressing that one of the strategies for combating mass unemployment in the country, which the NDE has adopted over the years is collaboration with willing stakeholders
He stated that the 100 women selected to participate in the resettlement exercise had received training in cosmetics production, knitting and tomatoes processing and preservation.
“Today marks the beginning of their lives as entrepreneurs. I am proud to say that these women have diligently acquired the relevant knowledge and skills required to be able to start their own business in line with the new acquired vocations.”
NDE urged the beneficiaries to make maximum use of the opportunity offered them by the Federal Government through the Directorate and not relapse into unemployment and move on to not only becoming self-employed and self-reliant, but equally emerge employers of labour.
Continuing, the NDE boss disclosed that the Women Employment Branch (WEB) of the Directorate has trained over 3,900 women in the last two years in different trades such as craft beads, interior decoration, shoes and bags making using local fabrics, tie/dye, beads stringing and wire works.
“As we all know, an empowered woman is a great asset to any society. The contributions of women to the sustenance of the family unit therefore cannot be over emphasized. The Women Employment Branch (WEB) of NDE which is responsible for anchoring the training for women was established in 1999 to initiate and implement gender specific schemes and programmes that provide direct assistance to women.”
Earlier in his address, the Etsu Nupe, Abubakar Yahaya, lauded the NDE for empowering the people of the Emirate especially women.
