Lagos Island Rotary, Lafarge train youths

The Rotary Club of Lagos Island (RCLI) District 9110, in collaboration with Lafarge has organised a five-day vocational training on mason and concrete skills for craftsmen, artisans and engineers.

This is part of its efforts to alleviate poverty and end unemployment among Nigerian youths.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony for the participants, its Charter President, Vinod Garg, said the training, which is part of its corporate social responsibility initiative for empowering youths through skill development, was poverty among Nigerian youths and make them employable.

Garg said with this need in the society, the RCLI identified vocational training as one of the best things to give to the society.

Apart from receiving certificates of the trainings, the participants were also given shovels, trowels, head-pans, safety overall coats, measurement gauges, boots, among other items to enable them to begin their own trade.

“They have been trained, given tools to work with and we will send their data to some companies which will employ them,” Garg said.

Marketing Director of Lafarge Africa Plc, Vipul Agrawal, said the training was to make impact on their lives, adding that it was carried out as part of the company’s obligation to the community.

Agrawal noted that since skill acquisition was essential to every trade, Lafarge decided to partner Rotary on vocational training for the youth, adding that with the knowledge they had acquired, they would either be employed or set up their own businesses, adding that there are employment opportunities for those who meet the requirements.

Also, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Telenoetica Limited, Abhishek Srivastava, who is also chairman of vocational training for RCLI, stated that Nigerians have neglected vocational training hence Rotary intervened to make the youths self-reliant.

Stating that this was the best form of charity to give to society, Srivastava urged non-governmental organisations and corporate bodies to help in skills development in Nigeria.

He, however, noted that a lot of improvement could be done, especially on creating awareness on the trainings.

Telenoetica Limited, in collaboration with the RCLI also trained youths on Health Safety and Environment (HSE) consciousness, electrical electronics repairs and will soon commence training on driving, beauty care, hair-dressing and fashion designing, among others.

Health Safety and Environment (HSE) Manager, Teleonoetica Limited, Obioma Izundu Onwukwe, said the training was part of its CSR to support the host community

A participant at the health safety training, Clementina Uwalaka, urged Nigerians to utilise the free opportunity to learn things that would be useful to their families, community and the entire society.