Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State
says his administration will boost the skills of artisans in the state
to make them have an edge over their foreign counterparts.
The governor, who also granted approval
for the training of 1,500 artisans in the state, spoke at the 7th
Tradesmen and Artisans’ Week and graduation of retrained artisans and
traders. He added that his administration recognised the contributions
of the informal sector as the vehicle of growth and economic
development.
The governor expressed confidence that
with the vigorous training which the graduate trainees had been exposed
to, the desire for foreign expertise would be reduced to the barest
minimum.
He said, “Our administration recognises
artisans as major players and the conveyor belt for industrial
enterprise in the country. We shall work to develop programmes to boost
artisans’ skills and capacities.
“The government of Lagos State is
passionate about this sector which has been demonstrated by the various
programmes anchored by the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment in
collaboration with other agencies.”
Ambode said genuine and credible members
of the Lagos State Council of Tradesmen and Artisans (LASCOTA) would be
able to access soft loans from the already inaugurated N25bn
Empowerment Trust Fund.
“This government will not sit and wait
for oil prices to rebound in the international market before arriving at
a solution to our challenges,” the governor added.
Ambode urged the newly trained artisans
to take advantage of the robust economic potential of Lagos State, being
the fourth largest economy in Africa, to market their goods and
services, adding that the training was designed to provide skills
required to service the industrial needs of the state.
The Commissioner for Wealth Creation and
Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, said the 500 trained artisans
successfully completed an eight-week intensive training sponsored by
the state government in 19 different trades and vocations.
He added that since the inception of the
training, over 10,000 artisans had benefited from the gesture aimed at
promoting innovations and healthy rivalry among Lagos artisans and their
counterparts elsewhere.
The Director of Entrepreneurship
Development in the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs.
Taiwo Abiose, said the long-term intention of the government was to make
it compulsory for all artisans willing to operate in the state to be
duly registered with the ministry for easy coordination of their
activities.
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