BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in collaboration with the Subsidy Re-investment Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) is in strategic partnership to implement skills acquisition programmes that would give fillip to Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda of reducing unemployment and creation of wealth.

The stage for this act was set at the MOU signing ceremony in Lagos, where the two organs agreed to build capacity, impart skills and create a pool of trained graduates who would become independent entrepreneurs.

In addressing the subject, particularly job creation, NEPC would integrate GIS with its Youth Empowerment Export Skills Acquisition Programme (YEESAP) through the grooming of interns on export matters, before deploying them to Export Manufacturing Companies to work for at least a year – drawing reasonable stipends as salaries paid by SURE-P.

At a Forum, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, Executive Director/CEO of NEPC, underlined that “the objective of YEESAP is to strengthen effort by SURE-P GIS to realize one of the Federal Government’s cardinal objective in the Transformation Agenda: wealth and job creation. The programme would surely revitalize the non-oil export sector of our national economy thereby increasing its contribution to GDP”.

The overall objective of integrating the GIS in the development of non-oil export is to ensure that youths are adequately equipped to manage export oriented businesses to sustain themselves.

According to the Director/Coordinator of GIS Mr. Peter Papka “this collaborative initiative to engage our teaming youths is a clear effort at encouraging Government to Government partnership, and a good example of Public Private Partnership which is in sink with the key mandate of SURE-P”.

The Forum titled “Integration of GIS in Non-oil Export Development” was attended by stakeholders from relevant MDAs, parastatals, the Organized Private Sector and captains of industries – especially those from the Export Manufacturing Companies who would eventually employ the interns.