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The Federal Government has allocated the sum of N10 billion for N-Build, a component of the N-Power programme designed to impact skills and enhance employability of Nigerians between 18 and 35 years old. The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Job Creation, Afolabi Imoukhuede, made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the State House in Abuja, on Thursday.

“We need to harmonise for a sustainable technical and vocational programme such as the N-Build programme that focuses on skills for entrepreneurship and job-competency,” said Imoukhuede.

The goal of the programme is to increase the skill competency and employability of Nigerian youths and improve their incomes. The N-Build programme, according to the SSA, currently has 10,000 trainees, who have been trained and doing apprenticeship across the country.

The stakeholders’ meeting was to review the success of the programme, which was rolled out on March 1, 2018, and rounded off with the first set of trainees in May, at which point it was formally launched by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

The Federal Government had launched the N-Power programme in 2016 to empower Nigerian youths with entrepreneurial skills and employability competences.

“We have mobilized 500,000 – 300,000 since December 2016, and 200,000 since August 1, 2018,” said Imoukhuede. “They rolled in for a two-year paid volunteer programme which is a learn-wok apprenticeship programme.”

He added that there is a non-graduate component of the N-power programme, which focuses on vocational training and apprenticeship. Additionally, there is the N-Power Knowledge which deals with technology – hardware repair and maintenance training, software development training and creative – where participants are trained on graphics, animation, illustration among others, he said.

The Federal Government, according to the SSA, also, makes an investment of N250,000 per trainee. The investment caters for tools and consumables of the trade each trainee signed for. Consumables were also provided for each centre in addition to the tuition fee, training manuals and log books for every trainee.

The Chief Administrative Officer – Job Creation Unit, Presidency, Nsika Okon, had earlier said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari deserves commendation for its massive empowerment programmes, according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The N-Power programme is part of the Special Intervention programme, consisting of the Home-grown School Feeding Programme, Government Economic Empowerment programme, N-Power Job Creation Programme to provide loans for traders and artisans, Conditional Cash Transfers to the poorest families and the new Family Homes Fund (social housing scheme).