FG to train 500 inmates on vocational, entrepreneurial skills in each of the correctional centres

The President Bola Tinubu-led administration has said it will train at least 500 interested inmates on vocational and entrepreneurial skills in each of the 240 correctional centres across the country.

This, according to the government, is part of efforts to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line in Nigeria.

The trained inmates will also be empowered with N500,000 to enable them start up a business.

The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Technical, Vocation and Entrepreneurial Education, Ms. Abiola Arogundade stated this at a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

The presidential aide said the training will focus on fashion designing, soap making, fishing, poultry, information technology among others.

She said the training is targeted at inmates who are close to the end of their sentence, adding that the training will assist them (inmates) easily reintegrate into the society upon their release.

According to her, the pilot phase of the programme has begun in Kuje correctional centre Abuja, with a designed curriculum that will be replicated in other centres in the country.

She said, “Every single person that we train, they are also going to be certified. They will not be left behind. It’s the same curriculum that we have and we are partnering with global bodies to make sure that any skill you acquire in Nigeria is going to be recognised worldwide.

“We have six months of training, we have nine months of training. So it depends on what you want to do. But our target is to start with people who are closer to the end of their sentence. So that as you are going out, you are going out with the skills and the day that you are released, is the day we will release the 500,000 to you. We will also mentor you and teach you how to start up a business just to make sure you don’t become second-time offender. We rehabilitate you into the community.

“So after Kuje correctional centre, we are moving to Suleja. We are going to try and duplicate this intervention in all our correctional centres across the country.

“We have looked at some case studies in other countries, like the Norwegian prisons to see what they did because they have a very low second time offenders rate. So we have been working with that very closely. It’s one of our key projects”.

To reduce unemployment and the search for white collar jobs, Arogundade said her office is working with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train graduates and provide them with options to choose from.

“We are already working and talking to NYSC. They have registered for a programme like that but we are trying to enhance that programme to give corps members the option of instead of having to have a blue-collar job, you can also choose a vocational or entrepreneurial skill which will be recognised with the NYSC certificate”, she said.