From Magnus Eze, Enugu
National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has equipped 17, 000 participants in its Extended Special Public Works Programme (ESPW) in Enugu State with basic business skills.
At a two-day Basic Business Training (BBT), Enugu State Coordinator of NDE, Dr. Chika Onah, urged participants in the respective centres of the three senatorial zones of the state, to take the training seriously.
Onah said the training became necessary to prepare participants to embark on micro business ventures in order not to return to the labour market after their three-month transient jobs.
Participants during the three-month programme embarked on such jobs as general cleaning of parks, schools, markets, health centres, clearing of refuse dumps, traffic decongestion, road maintenance, drainage clearing as well as erosion control.
Onah also charged them to utilise the funds they were given to start businesses of their own and possibly become employers of labour.
“You are lucky to have gotten the jobs. Now that you have been paid, I advise you to utilise the money you were paid to start your own business,” she said.
Organised by the Small Scale Enterprises Department of the agency, the training held at Nsukka, Udi and Enugu, respectively for the Enugu North, Enugu West and Enugu East Senatorial districts.
The participants were engaged under the 774,000 jobs of the Federal Government designed to empower rural dwellers.