‘Lagos Cares’ Begins 4 Weeks Technical, Vocational Training For Indigent (PHOTOS)

• “Lagos Cares” commences a four-week technical and vocational training for indigent and vulnerable residents in three Local Government Areas of the state

• …the Government’s readiness to empower the beneficiaries at the end of the training programme

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Lagos Cares”, a World Bank Assisted intervention programme executed as part of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus of the Federal Government (NG-CARES), has commenced a four-week technical and vocational training for indigent and vulnerable residents in three Local Government Areas of Lagos State.

Speaking at a forum held on Thursday at the Women Development Centre in Lagos, the Acting State Project Coordinator, Mr. Basit Baruwa, said the programme was organised for participants pro bono as no training fee was attached, affirming that the beneficiaries were picked on merit for seamless and proper coordination of the process.

Baruwa also declared the Government’s readiness to empower the beneficiaries at the end of the training programme, reiterating that the support project is expected to target households and micro-businesses from the informal sector for empowerment.

Noting that the programme was designed to expand the social safety net and minimise the untold hardship being faced by the people due to the global pandemic, the Coordinator averred that an orientation exercise had already been organised for project staff that will work at the grassroots for the success of the programme.

According to the Head of the Livelihood Support Delivery platform, Mrs. Toyin Salami, the project was created by the Federal Government, with support from the World Bank, to alleviate the hardship induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, through various skills acquisition training and empowerment support.

She said: “The objective of the livelihood programme is to provide short soft skills training, as well as one-off payments, to support economically active and self-employed young women in Lagos State. Beneficiaries for the livelihood grants will be selected using the State Social Register at the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget”.

“The livelihood support team will further conduct a physical verification exercise for the final selection of beneficiaries. The household member selected for the grant must be productive and agile to engage in some form of micro-enterprise. There is an approved grants size to be disbursed ranging from N20,000 to N200,000 based on the screening of micro-business plans submitted by the beneficiaries”, Salami added.

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While reiterating the importance of the training programme, Salami explained that despite several social protection programmes launched in the last few years, coverage of safety net programmes for vulnerable citizens remains low in contrast to its stated objectives.

She, however, revealed that several initiatives are underway to reduce fragmentation among smaller Adhoc safety net programmes and create an institutional structure at the Federal, State and Local Government levels to strengthen the coordination and implementation of interventions related to protecting the poor and the vulnerable.

The Head of the Livelihood Support Delivery platform stated further that 13 vocations are already being taught free of charge to 2,145 participants from three Local Government Areas in Lagos State including Ikorodu, Ajeromi-Ifelodun and Apapa LGAs.

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