SKILLS ACQUISITION: Edojobs Signs MoU With LAPO Microfinance Bank

By Simeon OSAJIE

Edojobs and LAPO Microfinance Bank, (LAPO MfB) have signed a memorandum of understanding, (MoU) to train and equip beneficiaries from the bulk of the Microfinance bank’s customers on skills acquisition to help them wade through the current economic murky waters

Speaking with newsmen at the ceremony, the Executive Director, Corporate Services, LAPO MfB, Gloria Bako appreciated the leadership of Edojobs for agreeing to the partnership and expressed delight that the partnership is to open up more opportunities to improve the lives of beneficiaries and make them self reliant in the face of the economic downturn in the country, in line with the goals of the Microfinance institution.

She said “We have a vision of improving lives, we are not just improving the lives of the parents but we are also going a step further to see how we can also impart the lives of the children, because they are the future of the nation.

“So, getting them involved will enable them to develop their skills, become self reliant and become employees or entrepreneurs on their own.

“For us in LAPO Microfinance Bank, we believe that partnering with Edojobs will create greater opportunity not only for our clients but also for their wards and their children. They are able to learn some skills therefore become self employed in the future and hopefully this one will help us in the Nigeria that we are today.

“With the rate of unemployment that we have – with skill acquisition, you see people becoming gainfully employed and that will do well for the economy as a whole.”

Bako further added that the Bank intends to sustain the project over time and not just a one-off programme

“For us we are looking at it as a project that will continue because based on the interaction our people had with Edojobs, I expect the beneficiaries to spread out the good things and the skills they have learnt. Once they do that, more people will come in to this programme and by so doing, you will discover that we are not just developing a little unit of the community but we are going further to develop the society. So for LAPO, it is a long term project”

On her part, the Managing Director, EdoJobs, Violet Obrokoro stated the willingness of Edojobs to promote youth empowering projects and resilience building to drive the vision of the state government

“This partnership with LAPO is a very laudable one in the sense that LAPO wants to train beneficiaries of their customers. It speaks so well of the organization to have beneficiaries of their customers in mind.

“We are entering into this understanding that when they bring them to us, we train them on different skills whether vocational or otherwise that are available under our purview – GSM repairs, fashion leather works, fabrication etc. We do a needs assessment on what interest them and from there, pick what best suits them and organize the training.

“Edojobs is about empowering the youths, getting them out of unemployment, teaching them professional skills that will help them start up businesses as entrepreneurs or encouraging them to get paid employment. So we do job matching and placement to teach them interview skills, teach them employability skills and work ethics.

“We also give them access to funds as the state government has made these funds available. We give to those that qualify or meet the criteria that have been put in place for them”

Obrokoro added that in continuing the project, Edojobs will “after the first phase, do an appraisal: lessons learnt, what to do, what not to do, how to do it and then take it up from there.”