Lagos Govt Unveils Creative Industry Initiative To Tackle Skills Gap

An initiative has been unveiled by the Lagos State Government to tackle skills gap in the creative industry.
According to the state government, the initiative was to enhance the skills of members of the creative industry to international standard.

An initiative aimed at addressing the identified skills gap in the creative industry in Script Writing, Directing, Cinematography, Film Making, Fashion and Style, among others, has been unveiled by the Lagos State Government.

The programme tagged Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative (LACI) was launched on Tuesday by the State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, at Ebony Life Place, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to the commissioner, LACI was coined by the ministry as an umbrella for two major players in the creative industry, Del-York Creative Academy and Ebony Life Academy, who are in partnership with the state government to hone the skills of members of the creative industry to international standards.

Akinbile-Yusuf added that the programme was designed to train and empower creative individuals in the State to meet the demands of the present-day realities.

She said, “The initiative was borne out of a passion to reposition the creative industry in Lagos State; to maximise its potentials and to also project the State to the world through the creative industry.

“LACI is here to stay and we believe the fourth industry revolution is underway, the one driven by the transformation power of the creative industries and it is a measure to ensure that Lagos State and her creative industry will always remain ahead of the game.”

She further disclosed that the launch of the initiative followed the completion of the selection process of 1,480 residents sponsored by the state government to undergo training in any of the courses offered by the duo of Del-York Creative Academy and EbonyLife Academy.

The commissioner explained that Ebonylife media would be taking the participants through physical classrooms (offline) and Del-York engaging the trainees online.

She, however, expressed confidence in the ability of the two creative firms, describing them as “reputable institutions that can be reckoned with”.

While speaking, the founder of Ebonylife Academy, Mo Abudu, commended the Lagos State Government for thinking ahead and empowering its citizens in the creative industry, stressing that this pioneer academy session will no doubt make Lagos a centre point for creative art.

Abudu also assured that the training offered is of international standard with seasoned facilitators slated to handle all the short courses in four modules, disclosing that the exercise is will last for 12 months with each module spanning three months.