–By Gertrude Onyekachukwu-Uteh and Ese Laura Oghene:

In preparation for the smooth take-off of the of the Delta State Government’s Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) 2022 cycle, a workshop has been organized for STEP trainers.

The Trainers’ Workshop which took place in Asaba was attended by 135 verified trainers selected by the Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau.

Addressing the participants, The Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer and the Head of the Bureau, Prof Eric Eboh, stated that the workshop was to help the trainers familiarize themselves with the rules, regulations and code of conduct guiding the training of STEP beneficiaries.

• CJWCO, Prof Eric Eboh, addressing STEP trainers
  He also stated that the workshop would perfect the documentation of selected STEP trainers before the onset of the training exercise and to obtain their commitment in the training process.

He listed six categories of skills available in the 2022 STEP cycle as Catering and Confectionery; Tiling and Interlocking; Hairdressing and Braiding; Audio-Visual-Services; Electrical and Solar works, and PoP, Screed-Making and Painting, adding that the training duration for the skills would be within a period of four to five months.

He emphasized that the State Government has in the past seven years trained and established 6,075 youths through STEP and the Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP.)

“Allow and guide the trainees to use your facilities to learn and to practise; provide qualified and well-motivated instructors during training exercise; follow the training manual, but add useful supplementary methods to help the trainees; inspect and sign the daily activity logbook; uphold the integrity of the programme which has been sustained since 2015, and report any irregular or troublesome trainee to the job creation bureau,” he charged them.

He commended the State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa for the political support given to the programme to ensure that it is sustained from inception till date, stressing that the 2022 STEP cycle is the seventh cycle in the series. 

On his part, the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Youth Monitoring and Mentoring, Mr. Edward Mekwunye, harped on the importance of the trainers as partners in the job creation success story.

• EA to Gov on Youth Monitoring and Mentoring addressing the participants

While emphasizing that the role of the Directorate of the Youth Monitoring and Mentoring (DYMM) is to ensure the success of the job creation and empowerment programmes of the State Government, he tasked them to put in their best to ensure that the training process is successful.   

Some Senior Special Assistants to the Governor on Job and Wealth Creation in the Bureau, Prince Charles Abutoh, Hon Emmanuel Osazuwa and Hon Leonard Esegbue, commended the State Governor for his commitment to creating job and wealth for the teeming unemployed youths in the state, appealing to the trainers to tap from their wealth of experience and to impact knowledge on the trainees to help them to realize the goals of the State Governor. 

Responding, Mrs. Nora Mcwhite, the CEO of Obooboo Bubble Integrated Services, a female trainer in PoP, Screed-Making and Painting, lauded the STEP programme. 

“STEP is a job creation programme for real people, real stories and real success stories. STEP is an applaudable programme and I am happy to be part of it,” she concluded. 

• A cross section of STEP trainers