Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos on Monday approved N15.5 million as seed funding and grants for final year students enrolled in the state’s graduate employment and entrepreneurs scheme.
Ambode’s Special Adviser on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said in a statement that the initiative is aimed at providing final year students of the state’s tertiary institutions with the tools and knowledge to become effective employees or job creators.
Bank-Olemoh said that 500 final year students from the state’s tertiary institutions had been enrolled in a curriculum, either in the employability track or the entrepreneurship track, since its commencement in June.
He said that at the end of the programme, over 90 top performing students in the employability track would be placed on six-month internship training with high ranking organisations.
The special adviser said that 80 students in the entrepreneurship track would also take part in three to six months entrepreneur apprenticeships.
Bank-Olemoh said that with this, they could learn the tricks of the trade, understand and develop processes for various businesses and build a network of vendors, industry peers, and mentors.
He said, “We already secured 90 internship slots for students in the employability track of the program.
“We also realised that students in the entrepreneurship track can also benefit from experience in a structured, supervised work setting, where they can learn the rudiments of running a business effectively.”
Bank-Olemoh said that the graduation of the 13-week programme had been scheduled for September to celebrate the achievements of students who successfully complete their courses.
Governor Ambode had in May established the scheme tagged “Ready.Set.Work”, which would enable successful students get internship placements in high ranking corporate organisations.