In response to the growing impact of climate change and the country’s high unemployment rate, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has trained 30 people in environmental entrepreneurship.
The Director-General of NDE, Abubakar Fikpo, said during the training that the initiative was run by the Special Public Works Department and was aimed at resolving environmental issues and lowering the unemployment rate.
He said the training would last three months and that each participant would be paid N10,000 per month to go to garbage areas and gather recyclable products.
Some of the sector’s participants were taught how to make ornaments out of animal horns and how to turn sawdust into smokeless firewood.
Fikpo, who was represented by the acting Gombe State Coordinator, Jediel Stephen, said the programme would increase the socio-economic activities, generate employment opportunities, encourage wealth creation and impact poverty reduction efforts in the state.
He said, “Enviropreneurship development is a foremost entrepreneurial orientation that focuses on environmental problems and accommodates societal needs while at the same time meeting the economic objective of the organisation since it has to do with doing business.
“An entrepreneur sees the world as a place full of resources and can also nurture a culture of lifecycle-based thinking on how to turn wastes to valuables within the rules and norms of the society and also in cognizance of regulatory instruments.”
He also asked the government to collaborate with the directorate in order to expand the training to all 11 local government districts and reach more people.
Roseline Olaomi, Director Special Public Works, Abuja Directorate, who was represented by Sa’id Salau, also spoke and encouraged participants to take advantage of the Federal Government’s chance.
Olaomi also pushed them to make sure they understood the basics of the training in order to make a life.
