By Ilam Patricia
Stakeholders in the job creation industry have identified the need for continuous innovation, improvement on capacity and the honing of saleable skills as the panacea for the rising rates of unemployment.
This was the focus of a one day youth capacity building and leadership training workshop themed “Building The Youths For An Independent Future” organized by the Nigerian Red Cross which Wednesday in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Different speakers took turns to address the youths who had gathered for the event.
Mr. Iwara Iwara, journalist and publisher of Calitown.com in his address urged the youths to grow not just capacity but character and skills that can be paid for by the society.
”For you to be a kind of leader who have capacity, you must always find time and study, find out how the best people have done it and read their story,” Iwara said and charged them to have “skills and capacity that are stable and saleable.”
He posited that there was nothing wrong with having multiple streams of income even as he charged them to, “never be afraid to make mistakes, because these mistakes will help you go forward or go backward.”
The On Air Personality stressed the need for them to be the best at what they do in order to be able to market their skills and to envision the future and what they want to be remembered for.
“You must be able to first understand where you are coming from in order to know where you are going to, begin to do things you are comfortable with. Many of us sitted here have a skill where he or she has comparative advantage,” he said.
For Mr. Emmanuel Etu, who represented the the National Directorate of Employment, (NDE), skill basically, was what one proficiently does with the hands.
He argued that education without a skill is non functional and explained that subject to the availability of funds, the NDE has rendered and will continue to tender services and assistance to entrepreneurs, businesses and cooperations in research development, idea generation and capacity building.
“What we do is subject to availability of funds and you can key into this to become somebody. We train you to use your hand to become self sufficient and to be an employer of labor,” Etu said.
A baker and guest speaker who simply identified himself as Mr. Sunny in his speech identified creativity and deliberate planning as key to building skill to a saleable level.
“Skill and Creativity has a lot to do with, you must build it to a sellable level. You must intensify efforts to build the creativity you have to be in the market, to remain relevant and competitive edge, so that you can sell it.
“You must invest your time, money, focus and think outside the box, if you want to build creativity in your skill. Having a skill for me is revolutionary, if you you build your skill to a certain level before you retire, you can fall back at it,” he said.
Furthermore, he listed parenting style, education and the society as factors that limit skill development and called on those willing to take charge of their income to rise above those limitations.
“If you love yourself, you will build your capacity and take your skill to a saleable capacity,”he added.
However, the International Committee of the Red Cross Field Corporation Officer, Mr. Alex I. said he preferred the term “capacity strengthening’ to building.
He posited that “creation has ended,” while “innovation is on a daily basis.”
Alex who said capacity strengthening consists of physical capacity, attitudinal capacity, economic capacity, among others, added that, “if you can’t solve a problem, you cannot be rich. Yesterday is not for us to repair but tomorrow is for us to either win or loose.”
The head of the National Productivity Center, Dr. Ambrose Obhiokhenan, represented by his Deputy, Mr. Rowland Osagie, in his speech averred that: “As a volunteer, by the time you start your business and apply the same spirit, you will succeed. The only way to market your services is to add value to it and market what you have.”
Obhiokhenan further opined that productivity is a marathon race without a finishing line which was heavily reliant on innovations and continuous improvement.
“If you want to be productive, you have to move forward, be achievement oriented, be smart, check and identify where gap exist and fill it,” he said.
Similarly, a baker who simply gave his name as Sunny identified parenting, education and the society as factors that limit skill development. However, he stated that youths willing to rise above these limitations must know that: “skill and Creativity has a lot to do with, you must build it to a sellable level.
“You must intensify efforts to build the creativity you have to be in the market, to remain relevant and competitive edge, so that you can sell it. You must invest your time, money, focus and think outside the box, if you want to build creativity in your skill.
“Having a skill for me is revolutionary, if you you build your skill to a certain level before you retire, you can fall back at it. If you love yourself, you will build your capacity and take your skill to a sellable Capacity, as he urged the youths to be focused and hard-working.”
Earlier, the youth patron of the state’s chapter of the Red Cross, Mr. Jerome Ayade, represented by the Branch Secretary, Mr. Joseph Eni in his opening speech, noted that; “obtaining Improvement in your skill is key, it will keep you going, put money in your pockets and make you independent.”
And, the branch youth cordinator, Ogar Ofana told CrossRiverWatch in an interview that the organization hopes that the youths “found in the street today, tomorrow will be seen no more. Why? because after listening to all the speakers and putting into use what they have learnt, you will discover that you will be so busy and keeping away with unprofitable act.”