As the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government ratchets up the series of human development programmes for Edo residents, Managing Director, Edo State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs), Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, has projected a positive economic outlook for the state in the medium-to-long term.
Dare’s forecast is predicated on the growing number of youths who have graduated from the state-owned innovation hub, numbering over 5000, many of whom are now employers of labour while some have been gainfully employed in the public sector.
According to Dare, “Human development is key to economic growth and with the challenges brought upon the global economy by Covid-19, only an economy with people that have the right ICT-oriented skills will survive in the medium-to-long term.”
Speaking on the role of EdoJobs in the state’s job creation drive, in Benin City, the Edo State capital at the weekend, she said: “We are an innovation center creating the supply of highly skilled ICT talent in Edo State and improving greater access to jobs in the ICT sector.”
She explained that “The hub has collaborated with national and international partners like Amazon, Google Africa, Curators University, LinkedIn, CADD Center, GIZ, Oxfam International, Facebook and more, to deliver cutting edge ICT skill trainings, solutions and connecting beneficiaries to opportunities and jobs in the IT sector.”
She added that “the hub was designed to help the very best founders and start-ups by facilitating access to high quality work spaces and infrastructure, teaching and learning, early stage investment capital, investor and peer networks.
“Edo innovation hub is positioned at improving the livelihood of Edo residents through different innovation programmes and training that lead to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in the state.
“With the thousands of people that have benefited from our human development programmes, we are confident that the Edo economy is robust enough, with regard to the required skills to deal with the challenges associated with covid-19 economy and beyond.”
The innovation hub, she maintained, “has repositioned Edo State, bequeathing her with a large number of skilled manpower contributing to the economy, which is in line with the position of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Human Development Report, 2021, that ‘the ultimate goal of development is to increase people’s capabilities.’”
