‘Human capacity development key to tackling unemployment’

To address the scourge of underemployment and unemployment among the nation’s teeming youths, there is a need for increased investment in human capacity and skills development.

This was the view of oil major, Total E&P Nigeria Limited while reaffirming its commitment to developing human capacities in the country, especially in remote areas where access to quality education is deprived. Indeed, the commitment was demonstrated as it commissioned and handed over a science laboratory it built and equipped at Toyon High School, Ado Odo area of Ogun State.

The Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water District, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Ahmadu-Kida Musa, said the completion and commissioning of the project was in furtherance of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as part of its deep water operations.

Musa represented by the Executive General Manager, CSR, Vincent Nnadi, said its CSR strategy focuses on education, maintaining that the strategy is well thought out as education remains the key to human development.He added that its education intervention has gone full cycle with impacts all over the country and beyond.

Listing some of the impacts, he identified them to include its catch-them-young program for primary school pupils, primary, post-primary, post-secondary and postgraduate scholarship with some tenable abroad, teacher training programmes, NYSC support scheme, skills acquisition programmes, classroom blocks, model schools, ICT centres, science laboratories and business development programmes.

According to him, these programmes running over the years have created great impact especially in the educational sector, stressing that its scholarship have supported indigents students, turned professors.He stated that its Institute of Petroleum Studies (IPS) has provided the needed manpower for the oil and gas industry.

He noted that the project commissioned is just one out of the many embarked upon by NNPC/Total and her partners in the current plan period, adding that 10 projects in various areas of intervention including health, education and water were commissioned in July this year.

“Right now, we have over 10 projects that are ready for commissioning in various parts of the country. As we hand over this project to the beneficiary, we implore you to ensure the sustainable use so as to impact on the students positively. The sustainability barometer shall be seen during the impact assessment exercise when the company will come back to check on how this project has helped to improve the studies in this institution,” he said.

The Governor, Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, represented by the Director, Department of Primary and Higher Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Abeokuta, Waheed Olanloye, commended Total for the CSR initiative, saying that it is in line of the State Government’s plan to revolutionise the educational sector.He said his administration is rehabilitating schools as it has declared a state of emergency in education in the State.

He charged the beneficiaries to put the facility to judicious use as it would go a long way to change the face of schooling in the community and its environs.