A’Ibom Skills Acquisition Centre to Boost Entrepreneurship, Self-reliance Among Youths

Okon Bassey in Uyo

The modern skills acquisition centre that was established by the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has reached advanced stage of completion.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on Research and Documentation, Mr. Essien Ndueso, who conducted journalists around the facility said that the centre would boost entrepreneurship and ensure self-reliance among youths and fresh graduates when it would be inaugurated.

The Project Consultant, Mr. Churchill Udoh, said that the center, which is sited at the defunct technical school, Ikot Ada Idem, Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, would provide courses in 10 faculties as well as house facilities for major sports tournaments in the country.

 Udoh said that the project site covered 12.8 hectares of land has facilities to increase the intake of students to 1500 after its inauguration.

He said that the center would also provide accommodation for refresher courses for high network individuals across the country, adding that the state government is securing international certification for some of the courses to be offered at the centre.

The international certification included the City and Guilds of London in addition to that of the National Board for Technical Education and other relevant trade bodies including the catering institute of Nigeria.

Udoh said that the University of Lancaster, University of Lagos and the University of Uyo have expressed interest to support some of the courses, adding that the 10 faculties would include civil technologies, mechanical engineering, automobile engineering, ICT, fashion/tourism/hotel management, agriculture, steel fabrication, carpentry works and general studies.

“The centre is built to be self-sustaining six months after it has commenced activities with the incorporation of commercial services to be executed by the students while both the short term and long term courses to be offered are expected to last between three months and one year.

“From the old technical college, we have added 18 brand new structures, a 1,500 capacity chapel/event centre, three surveillance centres with CCTV cameras.

“We also built staff quarters,  industrial kitchen and bakery for internal use and commercial purposes, a poultry for 45,000 birds, space for 65,000 free range birds, ranch to accommodate 4000 cows and 6000 other herbivores and a 60,000 litres water storage for irrigating the feeding areas for the herbivores,” he said.

Udoh said that the idea behind the centre was primarily meant to give opportunity to talented youths who could not go through a formal technical college and also graduates who could undertake short term courses in the different vocational courses and trades to be offered in the school.

He commended Governor Emmanuel for the initiative, saying that the project would also provide the required manpower for the industrialisation programme of the state government.