In a progressive effort to ensure inclusivity and diverse opportunities for youth-centered approaches, the Oyo State Agency for Youth Development Chairman, Hon. Adebowale Adebayo Falana, on Tuesday, hosted the Lola Cater for the Needy Foundation, led by its founder Ololade Ogunnubi, and the World Youth Skills Day team, led by Animashaun Aminat Aderayo.
The motive behind the partnership is to address the high unemployment rate among youth by equipping them with essential tech skills, job readiness skills, vocational skills, and training.
In her speech, the founder of the World Youth Skills Day team, Animashaun Aminat Aderayo, highlighted that since 2019, De’rayo Vocational Limited has organized a one-day event every 15th of July to celebrate World Youth Skills Day.
This event aims to sensitize youth on the importance of learning vocational skills and to provide training in various skills.
She emphasized the importance of youth engagement programs and initiatives that foster growth, development, and empowerment through mentorship and coaching toward self-reliance.
According to her, the decision to partner with the Oyo State government through the Agency for Youth Development was made to support this year’s World Youth Skills Day Celebration on the 15th of July, 2024, at the Amphitheatre Racecourse, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
The event is expected to host 400 participants, 70 trainers, and several special guests.
The goal of the meeting was to partner with the state government to support this noble cause, which focuses on training and empowerment.
Equally, the founder of the Lola Care for the Needy Foundation, Ololade Ogunnubi, introduced employable youth projects aimed at training and empowering 200 youths in Oyo State, including unemployed youth, youth corps members, youth with disabilities, and rural dwellers.
According to her, this initiative aligns with Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration’s roadmap to focus on youth employment schemes, vocational skill acquisition, and entrepreneurial training.
The state agency serves to mobilize, guide, encourage, and empower the youth of Oyo State, preparing them for smooth integration into society, physically, socially, psychologically, and productively.
Lola Care highlighted the benefits of the employable youth projects, including economic growth, enhanced employability, social inclusion, and support for government initiatives.
She stated that the support of the agency and the State government would be invaluable in bringing this project to fruition and making a lasting impact on the youth of Oyo State.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Oyo State Agency for Youth Development, Hon. Adebowale Adebayo Falana, praised the two foundations for their tech and vocational training initiatives and expressed the agency’s interest in supporting the program.
He assured them of the agency’s commitment to partnering with both foundations on youth engagement, training, and employability.
He urged the teams to fast-track their registration with the agency to enable full support for the next edition of their events.
Hon. Adebowale promised to be present at the youth entrepreneurial event and to support it with media coverage, security personnel, and other necessary arrangements.
This commitment demonstrates the readiness to foster a sense of purpose and direction, develop skills, build self-confidence, create a talented and competitive workforce, and address social and economic inequalities, all aimed at positive youth development to create a brighter future for individuals and society as a whole.
