The Need for Entrepreneurship Training at NYSC Orientation Camp.
The productivity of any nation depends on her working force, which include skilled and unskilled laborers. Since youths are stronger and energetic than adults and children in any society, engaging the youths constructively and skillfully helps in developing a nation or state.
Youth development generally entrails training of the mind and body for proper integration into the society, positive development and possibly, self-dependence, leading to the reduction of social-virces,over depending, unproductive life style among others.
This requires the establishment of small scale enterprise institutions and processes that will enhance the development of the youthful minds.
Government, over the years has been discussing how urgent, she is willing to empower the youths through entrepreneurship training, but efforts put in place are not commensurate with the numerous problems confronting this process. The long neglect of youth development has brought about militancy, restiveness, unemployment, among etc, leading to national insecurity and under development, hence the need for a comprehensive plan and programme for the youth development and empowerment.
To resolve the problems facing Nigerian youths, skill acquisition programs should be established. One of the ways of achieving this is through the introduction of small-scale business training for National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC).
The earnest goal of NYSC which is to foster unity in the country has been achieved to an extend, but there is still a great challenge, the youths are facing, which is unemployment.
According to National Bureau of statistics, over 14 million Nigerian Youths loam about the street unemployed. This high rate of unemployment will drastically reduced, if the three weeks orientation given to corps members in the camp will be base on creative activities that will enable NYSC members to acquire skills that will help them to become entrepreneurs and set up small scale business after their service year.
One would ask what could be the essence of wasting three weeks in the camp without learning any tangible thing, some collapse out of fatigue during the drilling section, some lose their lives during this period. Why can’t this paramilitary training section that is gradually bringing pains to many Corps members be use for creative training such as:
- Teaching the corps members how to make bar soaps,
- Liquid soaps,
- Liquid insecticides or Pesticides,
- How to produce cosmetics and creams,
- Detergents,
- How to bake or even cook,
- How to decorate or design,
- How to set up a mini water packaging business,
- How to set up a laundry and dry cleaning business among others.
Similarly, a corps member can equally pay small money to a near-by skill acquisition center to learn one or two things during his/her service year. Remember, it is putting knowledge in to practice that brings about productivity.