By ThankGod Wekpa
No fewer than 500 students across five Lagos State owned Tertiary Institutions have bagged certificates of participation and awards of exceptional performance at the grand finale of the 2024 edition of the Job Initiative Lagos(JIL) training programme.
The grand finale which took place on Tuesday, 12th November, 2024 at the Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium, Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, came after a 3-week intensive training of the students on job readiness for the 21st century job market.
The programme ran for 3 consecutive Saturdays at the LASUSTECH, Ikorodu and LASUED, Ijanikin training centres beginning from 26th October to 9th November, 2024. It was put together by the Lagos State government through its Ministry of Tertiary Education in collaboration with the Greendrive Resources Limited.
The five participating institutions were the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu; Lagos State College of Nursing (LASCON), Igando; Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET), Yaba; Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Otto-Ijanikin and the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo.
It may interest you however, to know that a LASUSTECH student, Saheed Aliyu Umar of the Computer Engineering department was among the 4 exceptional students who bagged the Second Best Outstanding Student Award, with the other 3 from LASU.
Meanwhile, the governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was adequately represented by the Secretary to the State Government(SSG), Barr. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin explained that the JIL was a comprehensive programme designed by the Lagos state government to train and nurture penultimate and final year student of Lagos state owned tertiary institutions for the job and entrepreneurship market by equipping them with soft skills and other requirements necessary to make them suitable for excellent performance in their chosen careers.
In his words, "No fewer than 67,000 penultimate and final year graduating students in all of our tertiary institutions have benefited from this training programme since inception about 4 years ago. Through this programme, our graduates have not only been gainfully employed, but have become employers of labour and captains of industries themselves.
"This cutting edge training and grand breaking initiative offers graduating students several opportunities in the area of career planning, job attitude training, emotional intelligence, communication skills, artificial intelligence, coding amongst other that would chart a new course in job opportunities, entrepreneurship and innovation for our dear students which have facilitated a smooth and direct entry into the highly competitive labour market.
"The JIL programme has significantly enhanced the quality of our graduates due to the rigorous training experiences as they are now considered a priority demand in the ever competitive labour market. It may surprise you to know that initiatives like this that earned LASU the best state owned university of the year(2020/21) award", he said.
Speaking on the motivation for the initiative, he stressed that, "Our continued commitment to training undergraduates through this programme highlights our dedication to making Lagos a model of excellence and a leader in technological advancements across Sub-Saharan Africa.
"As a government, we recognise the potentials of artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and digital technology in economic transformation and improved governance, therefore, we seized this opportunity of training our youths to enhance the quality of life of the citizenry, perceiving it as a task that must be done.
"The JIL is not just a programme, but a movement-a movement of the youths to empower them and to transform our economy to bring about a better future for all of us."
He went further, "I am therefore, assuring you that my administration will continue to partner with many relevant stakeholders to provide hands-on training in AI, machine learning, and data science, digital intelligence programmes and mentorship in the job market in a compelling environment.
"We will create a vibrant ecosystem that fosters innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. As we all embark on this transformative journey, I urge all stakeholders entrepreneurs partners and academia to join forces to use this initiative to create a brighter future for our children in Lagos State in particular, and Nigeria in general so that we can unlock the full potential of our great youth, drive sustainable development and fortify the state as a hub of opportunities," he pledged.
In the same vein, he commended the organising committee of the programme for their tireless efforts to making it a huge success, and also the students for their enthusiasm and perseverance in undergoing the rigours of the training adding that the benefits attached thereto was worth every sacrifices.
He also appreciated the support of the partners, facilitators and other stakeholders for their support in bringing the event to life.
On his part, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hon Tolani Sule while welcoming everyone to the occasion, remarked that "the grand finale marked the cumulation of our collective efforts to empower the next generation of leaders and change makers through Entrepreneurship and innovation, thus bridging the gap between academia and the industry in the 21st century ecosystem courtesy of the JIL programme.
"I therefore, urge you all who are beneficiaries of this great programme to utilize the opportunity in your various endeavours," he said.
Selected participants from the two training centres (LASUSTECH, Ikorodu and LASUED, Ijanikin) recounted their experiences at the 3-week programme, all of whom were unanimous in summarising the entire training as impactful and life changing, commending the Lagos State government for the initiative.
The permanent secretary, Ministry of Tertiary Education, Mr Waheed Kasali gave the vote of thanks, appreciating everyone for their efforts, support and participation.
The event was themed 'Maximizing the Transformative Capabilities of Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century Workplace' and featured a panel discussion led by Mr Sam Egube, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Lagos State.
A substantial number of the Lagos State cabinet members graced the occasion, alongside the representatives of the Greendrive Resources Limited, heads of the 5 participating tertiary institutions and facilitators from the training centres.
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