By Aisha Tamba
The Gambia National Youth Service Scheme under the purview of the Ministry of Youth and Sports on Monday oriented 150 young people ahead of their skills acquisition training held at the Independence Stadium.
The six-month project aims to support young people acquire skills for a sustainable livelihood.
Speaking at the orientation, the executive director of NYSS, Emmanuel D. Mendy, said: “It is to be noted that many youths continue to demand for the services of the scheme and we hope that these will be matched with resource allocation from government and development partners. This demand is ever increasing, given the number that always applies and continues to seek our services on a daily basis.
“This project will be implemented for six months beginning with five skills areas such as rice agronomy, auto mechanics/ electrical, plumbing, brick-laying and tailoring. They will be provided with both tuition and travel support during the training period.”
He thanked the Youth Empowerment Project for funding this programme and that young people of this country are ready and willing to learn skills that are vital for the socio-economic development of this country.
The chairman of board of directors, Famara Badjie, said the NYSS is an institution of national significance where government’s crusade for practical youth development and employment is delivered to youth.
“We as a board, government and parents have a moral duty and responsibility to care about our young people and address the issues of youth empowerment as a strategy for dealing with various issues affecting our youth, including youth irregular migration, youth poverty resulting from many demographic, economic and social factors.
“This orientation exercise will no doubt strengthen your social and mental endurance in order to polish you practical, social and leadership skills before you are deployed to the various training institutions for skills acquisition,” he said.
