The Nigerian Bottling Company plc (NBC) has kicked off the latest edition of ‘Youth empowered’, a training workshop designed for youths with Life and Business skills for their personal development to help them transition to meaningful employment.
The workshop, is the first in the series of Youth empowered workshops for the year, held in Ibadan.
Speaking on the importance NBC attached to the programme, Managing Director of the Company, Mr. George Polymenakos, said the initiative was part of the company’s intervention programmes for the youth geared towards discovering their potential and providing them with the right skills for work environment.
He noted that it was imperative for the youth to take advantage of this unique opportunity by engaging business leaders and mentors who will be present to offer them essential business skills that would help them succeed in contemporary business, environment.
“As a business we remain committed to providing platforms that would assist the youth in channelling their energy and talents towards a productive cause, hence the introduction of this initiative. We believe this programme would go a long way to help the youth and young entrepreneurs sharpen their business skills and expertise in different profession. Furthermore, the initiative would help tackle the alarming rate of unemployment and underemployment in Nigeria as learnings from the training will get the youths better prepared to create jobs for themselves,” he added.
Praising the initiative, the Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Abayomi Oke said it would improve the skill set of the youth and make them more employable while also inspiring them to become entrepreneurs.
He said it was in line with Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s youth centric leadership, urging participants to take advantage of the opportunities for learning and networking.
Highpoint of the event was the introduction of the ‘Business ideas competition’. Winners will undergo another specialised training using the UNIDO/HP LIFE curriculum and get funding to actualise their ideas.
The NBC Youth empowered program will also hold for three days in Benin, Kaduna and Enugu.
