Obaseki. Photo/FACEBOOK/ godwinobasekiofficial
Obaseki pledges investment in youth development to drive post-COVID-19 economic recovery
Edo State Government has restated that ongoing reforms in the state’s public and civil service are part of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s efforts to retool workers with the right skills to meet the demands of modern and improved efficiency and productivity.
Edo State Head of Service (HOS), Anthony Okungbowa, who spoke at a workshop for permanent secretaries, directors, and various heads of government agencies in Benin City, urged workers to be dedicated and diligent in carrying out their duties.
Noting that the government remains committed to the welfare of workers in the state, Okungbowa reassured that the state government “will not relent in its efforts at sustaining its worker-friendly disposition and ensuring an enabling environment for workers to perform optimally.”
He said the state government has initiated and implemented policies and programmes to improve the living standards of workers in the state, charging the workers to reciprocate the government’s gesture by displaying unalloyed commitment to their duties.
“We must all inculcate the desired zeal to serve the state with integrity and honesty and together with the governor’s Make Edo Great Again (MEGA) agenda,” he added.
Earlier, Managing Director of Greenfield Consultancy and Allied Services, Chris Osarumwense, gave an update on the recent recruitment exercise into the state’s civil and public service to fill vacant positions.
He also explained that the ongoing re-skilling, retooling, re-engineering of the civil service is in line with the transformation agenda of the Obaseki-led government, aimed at creating a professional, compact and flexible civil service for optimal service delivery to Edo people.
IN another development, Obaseki said his administration would continue to prioritise investment in youth development and implement policies that would enable them to acquire a new skill-set to contribute their quota in the post- COVID-19 global economic recovery.
He made the remarks during commemoration of the World Youth Skills Day, marked on July 15 every year by the United Nations and its agencies.
“As part of our broad strategy for post-COVID-19 economic recovery, we will continue to equip our youths with new skills-set to boost their employability through the EdoJobs and in line with our vision for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET),” he said.
Obaseki noted that his administration had intensified training that would prepare the youth for top-of-the-range Information and Communication Technology (ICT) jobs, as software engineers in the proposed Edo Tech Park, noting, “We are assisting our youth to acquire on-demand skill sets to drive economic growth.”
He canvassed more support from multilateral corporations, stakeholders in the private sectors, all levels of government and other development partners in assisting the state with the required resources to equip more youth with new skills that would enable them to compete with their peers globally.
