LEAP Africa, foundation train 450 students with life skills 

LEAP Africa and CITI foundation have trained about 450 students and 15 teachers in life skill initiative to bridge the skill-gap through developmental programmes and leadership skills.

The initiative, also referred to as iLEAD, is designed to equip senior secondary students with skills that help them cope with the challenges of life.The keynote speaker, Gbenga Sesan said majority of the participating students are not transiting properly in their career at a forum that attracted different groups from the education sector.

He explained that large percentage of students who finish their primary school education do not go to secondary schools, while those who get into the university are not readily prepared for the 21st century jobs. Sesan, however, called for assistance from all sectors to groom youths properly with the essential abilities they need to add value to the Nigerian society and keep them away from negative vices.

The programme officer LEAP Africa, Femi Abraham, who spoke on how the firm has been impacting lives through the years, said there was a disconnect between what students are learning in schools and what they need to add value to their society.He said the event emphasized the need to mainstream leadership and life skills in Nigerian secondary schools, to help close the growing skill gap and give the young ones the necessary skills required in the 4th digital revolution.

“Over the past few years, LEAP Africa through iLEAD has been implementing programmes, some of them cascading from primary, secondary, university and even out of school individuals.

“ILEAD was designed to equip senior secondary students in public schools with skills that help them cope with the challenges of life. The iLEAD programme is a leadership and life skill initiative for secondary school students. Over the course of the iLEAD fellowship year, we have trained 450 students across five schools. We also trained 15 teachers to cascade the modus to the 450 students in the school.“We are using this event to gather ideas together and share our knowledge over the past years that we have been implementing youth programmes,” he explained.

CITI’s head of Public affairs, Nigeria and Ghana, Lola Oyeka said: “The iLEAD programme is in line with CITI foundation’s pathway to progress, which aims to reduce the persistent rate of unemployment and supporting young people build skills to engage them in the formal economy. The foundation, as part of its commitment to reducing unemployment would support programmes that would help grow and foster entrepreneurial, leadership and work skills in young individuals.”