Alhaji Jelani Aliyu, the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), says it has trained 300 unemployed youths across Nigeria in mechatronics and repair of heavy duty vehicles.
Jelani told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that the gesture was aimed at further reducing the high unemployment rate in the country.
According to the DG, “the youth are trained to understand brand new vehicles and know how to fix them.
“So, they now have new jobs, so they are sustainable and more will be trained across the country.
“Every day, we hear about unemployment. Every year, tens of thousands of youths graduate from universities and polytechnics.
“They roam the streets, with no jobs and it is very easy for them to get into these vices that are harmful to the society.”
Aliyu said that the only solution was to create jobs and curb the menace of unemployment and poverty.
He said:”The only solution we believe and I believe everyone should have that commitment to create jobs and skills.
“Gone are the days when paper qualification is useful and skills are needed.
“We need young Nigerians to practically add value, practically understand problems and come up with solutions.”
Meanwhile, the council has also established six zonal automotive training centres in Abakaliki, Gusau, Bauchi, Osogbo, Lokoja and Benin.
“Now, we are also building such centres across Nigeria,” Aliyu disclosed.
He said that hitherto, the council was hiring workshops for the training of the youth across the country.
The DG further said that the council had secured the approval of the Federal Executive Council to import equipment from Germany, adding that they had started arriving in the country.
“They will go into these centres and we will train more of these youths as our major contribution towards taking Nigerians off the streets and giving them jobs,” Aliyu added.(NAN)
