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ABUJA – The Federal Government has flagged off the Phase 3 of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative, targeting 26,961 Nigerians to put in applications for skills acquisition across the country.
The scheme which is aimed at addressing the issue of unemployment in the country, is being facilitated by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi declared the exercise open, on Thursday, while launching the online registration portal for phase 3 of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative (RHEI) at its corporate headquarters in Abuja.
He noted that the training scheme aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s human capital development initiative, saying it’s deliberately structured to reach fresh cohorts of unemployed Nigerians.
He highlighted funding challenges affecting previous beneficiaries yet to be paid their stipends, assuring that government is working out modalities to settle outstanding obligations without delay.
Dingyadi said,”Let me assure all Nigerians of the Federal Government commitments to improved mass employment creation which is one of the cardinal objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda. To this end, NDE will be supported with the required funding to upgrade it’s skills acquisition training centre nationwide to enhance the delivery of marketable skills.
“To the intending trainees of this programme, I need to quickly charge you to abide by the rules and guidelines governing the programme. You must realise that this initiative is a huge and deliberate investment by the federal government which is targeted at ensuring a brighter and secure future for you, therefore apply yourself diligently to the spirit and guiding principles of the programme”.
Director-General of NDE, Silas Agara, said beneficiaries of phases 1 and 2 will not be eligible to apply for the phase 3.
He noted that the new applicants will be trained in 70 highly demand driven skill areas spanning agriculture, entrepreneurship development, special public works,ICT, technical and Vocational skills.
He said upon successful completion of the training, a total of 3,405 outstanding graduate trainees will be Resettles with starter packs and tools to enable them establish sustainable enterprises.
Agara also noted that the NDE decided to upgrade the online portal to ensure inclusivity, adding that the initial process of downloading forms to apply created gaps.
He said,” what makes phase 3 even more impactful is that it has been comprehensively structured to align with global best practices and evolving labour market demands. Beyond offering demand driven skills, the training duration has been extended, and a comprehensive post training support framework has been introduced to improve learning outcomes”.
