With agribusiness taking center stage in Nigeria’s economy, 1000 young people are to benefit from ReelSkills for Agribusiness Initiative on the heels of partnership agreement reached by three organizations, ReelFruit, Temploy, and Made Culture.
The three organizations explained, Friday, that the ReelSkills for Agribusiness initiative is basically designed to build capacity of the youth on technical and soft skills demanded by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the Agri-processing sector in Nigeria.
The initiative funded by the Netherlands Government under the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) programme is a training and job-matching programme designed to equip Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) holders and Ordinary National Diploma (OND) between the ages of 18 – 35 years with skills in Food Safety and Processing, Digital Sales and Marketing.
The ReelSkills for Agribusiness (R4A) is a training and job-matching programme designed to equip young people with real technical and soft skills for Agri-processing.
The programme will go beyond equipping young people with these relevant skills to connect them with decent jobs within the Agri-processing sector.
Over three years, 1000 youths (60% women) will pass through the training program and at least 800 of these will be matched to worthwhile jobs.
Explaining about the initiative, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ReelFruit, Affiong Williams, said, “Having realised that the Agri-processing sector offers enormous opportunities, we are thrilled to have partnered with Temploy and Made Culture on this initiative that will enable us not only to build potentials but also offers us the opportunity to equip young Nigerians who have the interest to grow this sector.
“We are committed to building the Agri-processing sector and creating opportunities for young people. We believe that we can build and support more entrepreneurs within this sector through this initiative and we are happy to have kicked off this initiative that will transform the processing and manufacturing ecosystem.”
Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Temploy Nigeria, Juyin Benson said, “Temploy is delighted to be collaborating with ReelFruit and Made Culture to build the capacity of young Nigerians.
“We are devoted to recruiting, training and equipping 1000 youths within Lagos and Ogun state over the next three years with digital and technical skills that will prepare them for a career in the Agri-processing sector.”
The Founder & Principal Director of Made Culture, Malaika Toyo, also disclosed that, “I believe passionately in using small-to-medium enterprises as skills development hubs for youth.
“In our quest to tackle Nigeria’s unemployment crisis, we hope to articulate the needs of the labour market to inform how we can provide lifelong learning skills that will improve the lives of young Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, the first batch of trainees were selected based on their availability, qualification as an OND or SSCE holder, and desire to begin a career in the Agri-processing, have officially been trained and are keen on embarking on the job-matching, and a lifelong career in Agri-processing.
They can send application for the next cohort, which is ongoing, click bit.ly/joinreelskills2b to apply or visit https://temploy.ng/reelskills/ for more information.
Vanguard News Nigeria