The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), yesterday, flagged off the second phase of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative ( RHEI2) to train 41,307 people.
Flagging off the second phase in Abeokuta, the Director General (D-G) of NDE, Mr Silas Agara, said that the 41,307 beneficiaries would be trained on different vocations including agriculture, ICT, among others
The NDE in 2024 recorded a significant stride when it aligned with Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu targeted at increasing employability, small-scale enterprises growth, and promoting agricultural productivity among others.
Agara, who was represented by NDE Ogun Co-ordinator, Mrs Kehinde Oshinowo, said that the directorate was positioned to equip the participants positively with needed skills to enhance their employability.
He said that the RHEI 2 would improve livelihoods of beneficiaries, which would in turn enable them to contribute to their communities and the economic growth of the nation
“Furthermore, a total number of 14,457 beneficiaries are expected to be resettled with starter packs to also help them establish themselves in their chosen fields, ” Agara said .
The NDE DG said that in the first Phase of Renewed Hope Employment Initiatives (RHEI1) a total of 32,692 unskilled and unemployed Nigerians were trained.
He stated that the 32,692 people were trained in demand driven skills across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Agara said that through RHEI1, about 5,532 beneficiaries were settled with loans and starter packs.
“Linkages to credit granting institutions for those that could not be accommodated under the directorate’s soft loan scheme is ongoing for RHEI1,” the D-G said.