Lagos to prioritise Skills acquisition as empowerment strategy for poverty alleviation – Nathan-Marsh

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Oyinade Nathan-Marsh, has given an assurance that the present administration will continue to prioritise skills acquisition as an empowerment strategy for poverty and unemployment reduction in Lagos State.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of a three-day annual skills acquisition workshop organised by the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture (LSCAC) and held at the Indoor Hall of the Agency in Alausa, Ikeja, Mrs. Nathan-Marsh urged residents, especially the youths, to embrace skills acquisition programmes for self-dependence through viable entrepreneurship.

The Permanent Secretary, who was represented by the Director of Tourism Promotion Department of the Ministry, Mrs. Ada Oni, decried the unemployment rate in Nigeria and enjoined affected residents not to depend too much on securing white-collar jobs but acquire a new set of skills and develop their creative abilities through the various skills acquisition programmes of the State Government.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, Mr. Oladusi Komolafe, noted that the workshop is the eighth edition of the annual empowerment programme designed to promote the creative industry by imparting skills to residents for self-dependence.

He said: “In line with the statutory functions of Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture to promote, propagate and preserve the cultural heritage of the people of the State, it has become expedient to further develop the creative industry for a richer entertainment and tourism sector through the annual workshop”.

“Skills acquisition has become a tool for addressing the socio-economic stability of nations. The changing demographic nature of the workforce is reforming the economic parameters. Residents should upgrade their creative abilities and be self-employed towards contributing their quota to the development of the economy”, Komolafe stated.

Over 100 participants, drawn from the 57 Local Governments and Council Development Areas of the State, were trained in Ankara Crafts, Cap and Jewelry Making, Tie and Dye Batik Production, Cane Weaving and Cosmetics, and Skincare Production, among others, and received Certificates of Completion at the event.