Minister commissions initiative to boost employment generation

THE Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah has commissioned the Shade Tree Youth Empowerment Initiative (STYEI) in Kaduna, describing it as an employer of labour capable of taking jobless youths out of the streets.

The initiative, specifically designed to empower Nigerian youth, particularly within the automotive industry was part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme organized by Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, PAN with the aim of reducing poverty and creating employment for youths across the country.

According to the minister, “the STYEI will contribute to reducing unemployment because repairing a car can not be done by an individual, so it require a lot of participation. The mechanics, spare part sellers, tyre dealers will be involved. So all this chains will be pulled out of poverty, by actively engaging in either sales of spare part or repairs of cars. It will take a lot of people from the street.”

Represented by the Director Engineering in the ministry, Engineer John Aboje assured that government would collaborate with relevant stakeholders in implementation of the STYEI project.

He said: “In the course of implementation of STYEI, it is recommended that the board of STYEI management should liaise with NADDC and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) on capacity building. It is also important to inform you that FMITI is ever willing to support start-up/new business development in SMES,” he s t re s sed .

Similarly, the Managing Director of PAN, Ibrahim Boyi in his said STYEI been a social investment program was floated to address socioeconomic challenges of unemployment and skills gap.

According to him, STYEI is aimed at providing a formalized operating structure for the largely loose, fragmented and unregulated auto mechanics across the country with a strong value proposition of adequate capitalization, training, organization, compliance with specified standards and business growth trajectory.