In an act to foster growth amongst SME’s, the Field of Skills and Dreams VTE Academy in partnership with the United States of America has kickstart the training of 100 young entrepreneurs.
Mrs Omowale Ogunrinde, the founder of FSD, said this during the graduation ceremony of life entrepreneurship skills for green economy jobs, in Lagos on Thursday.
Ogunrinde said the beneficiaries were young Nigerians from underserved communities in Lagos and Ogun States.
The six-month capacity-building training programme focused on sustainable fashion design and solar installations, she noted.
Ogunrinde explained that she came up with the idea because there was so much waste, saying, “Hence the need to teach the young ladies to turn waste into a fashionable outfit. We have been able to showcase growth and innovation from the work, which is why today is important.
“FSD and its partners have trained over 10,000 people in Nigeria since inception. We are glad to see that they are all fully productive and engaged. We have been operating for 21 years. It is a partnership with the US; the Consulate pays their tuition, and we pay the rest. The students do not pay anything; it’s free.”
Also, Will Stevens, the Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, Nigeria, stated, “Today we are here celebrating the graduation ceremony of these incredible students who just finished their training program to fulfil their dreams. We have been working for over 20 years to equip Nigerian youths with the skills they need to get jobs.
“There are so many young entrepreneurs who are focused on upcycling and recycling clothing, as well as people focused on green energy solutions and maintaining, installing and equipping solar panels.”
Stevens said, they are skills that people need to succeed moving in the future, these are jobs for the 21st century.
“The most amazing thing about the program is the incredible entrepreneurial skills of these students seeing how dedicated they are to improving themselves and their communities. And secondly, hearing the stories that the majority of them are employed,” he added.
Muhammad Ibrahim, One of the beneficiaries of the programme, said he had no idea about solar installation.
“I was a teacher but I saw the advert, and took advantage of it. The platform has taught me how to not only install (solar panels) but how to train others,” he averred.
