NLNG YES is the acronym for the Nigeria LNG Youth Empowerment Scheme; it is a sustainable development initiative of the company specifically targeted at youths within NLNG host communities to make them more economically and socially responsible and self reliant, via business and vocational skills acquisition through technical and managerial training. YES is the product of a paradigm shift in community development and is a conscious effort to promote self reliance, encourage the growth of small scale businesses and promote economic empowerment.
OBJECTIVES OF THE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SCHEME
The overall objective of the NLNG YES is to equip the youths with knowledge and life skills to make them self reliant and economically empowered as well as enhance their socio –economic status. Specific objectives of the YES are:
1) To provide vocational /technical skills training for selected unemployed youths
2) To expose them to skills required to start, operate and manage their business start-up
3) To facilitate the acquisition of basic tads for business start up.
4) To stimulate entrepreneurial development and achieve attitude re – orientation among selected youths.
Participation in the NLNG YES is targeted at unemployed or self employed youths who have inadequate skills in their area of interest but are desirous of improving their status through skills acquisition. In addition such intending participant would meet the following conditions:
1) Be a native of an NLNG host community
2) Possess a minimum of JSCE, SSCE or NECO.
3) Be aged between 18 and 30 years
4) Demonstrate capacity and willingness to put to use the starter packs for income generation after graduation.
However at present, due to the limited number of available slots, only those with high level of enthusiasm would be selected and efforts would be made to ensure a balanced spread among NLNG host communities.
HOW TO APPLY/SELECTION PROCESS
The scheme is designed to run in batches; consequently the admission process into the scheme is initiated only after the previous batch has graduated. Notices are thereafter sent to the various communities via their established organs with application forms for interested applicants to apply.
The selection process then commences as follows:
1) Interested youths collect application forms from the Head of the Economic Empowerment Unit Community Relations department NLNG Port Harcourt office, and complete them.
2) The traditional leader or chairman of the CDC endorses such applications.
3) Forms accompanied with parental of guardians’ guarantee and other relevant documents are submitted to NLNG.
4) The company screens applications and short listed applicants are invited for interview.
5) Successful applicants are notified of the offer with a letter and invited for induction.
6) The YES training commences.
THREE TIER TRAINING
All inducted trainees, undergo a 3 – tier, all- encompassing training programme to maximally achieve the desired objective of the scheme, the training sequence is as follows:
1. Attitude Reorientation Training: This training would be held in a closed camp. All the inductees undergo 5-day attitude reorientation training. The major objective of which is to prepare their minds for the vocational training and to also expose them to leadership skills, discipline and provide direction on the expectations of the company, their families and the community from them during and after the duration of training.
2. Vocational/Technical training: After the attitude reorientation training, the inductees are attached to the various training centres already pre-qualified and assessed for quality, based on their respective chosen vocations, The trainees undergo a 7 month vocational/technical skills training in any of the following presently offered modules of the NLNG YES.
a. Photography and video production.
b. Hair dressing and cosmetology.
c. Fashion design and sewing.
d. Welding and fabrication.
e. Air conditioning and refrigeration.
f. Woodwork and furniture making.
g. Horticulture and landscaping.
Other vocations would however be considered in future as the need arises.
During this training, a monthly stipend is provided to each of the trainees as transport subsidy to ease the burden of transport to the training centres.
3. Business Development and Management Training: A 5- day intensive business development and management training wraps up the entire programme and is a pre – requisite towards the graduation of the trainees. This training is also held in camp and then the graduation ceremony is held shortly afterwards where successful trainees are presented with suitable starter packs to enable them set up their businesses, using the skills they acquired in the course of the programme.
MONITORING AND MENTORING
A periodic and regular monitoring and mentoring exercise is a key component in evaluation of the impact of the NLNG YES. The performances of trainees during training are monitored periodically to assess, appraise and promote the desired impact of the scheme. A report on the performance of each trainee is also generated and documented to serve as a basis for measurement of diligence, qualification for graduation and reward.
The monitoring and mentoring exercise also continues after graduation to ensure that starter packs are put into proper use and also provide mentoring services to assist trainees overcome challenges they might encounter in the course of their business.
OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE
The implementation of the pilot scheme has gone along way in giving light to the strategy of implementation of the scheme as outlined above, it is therefore projected that other batches of the scheme would follow in years to come and the scheme would be periodically reviewed to reflect impact of lessons learnt and to fine tune, the programme for optimum impact. This would in the long term, create a viable and variant pool of economic skills within NLNG host communities for economic development.
The implementation strategy for the new phase is designed to adopt measures that would further enhance the efficiency of the scheme in order to build upon its achievements. We therefore hope to gradually increase the number of youths admitted into the scheme per batch on a yearly basis as the rate of success increase.
A large number of the graduands of the first batch of trainees trained in the scheme are doing well in their various businesses or in the process of setting up one. The following two examples readily come to mind.
Christopher Jonathan, from Bakana is a member of the pilot batch of the Youth Empowerment Scheme. He was trained in the video and photography module and completed his training in October 2005. Christopher learnt so fast and even took part in the video coverage of his own graduation ceremony which took place in November 2005. After graduation, he was presented with starter packs with which he established his own business. Today Christopher is a well known video operator; he has purchased more equipment for his thriving business and was recently enlisted to take up video and photography coverage at NLNG events as a registered contractor.
Marian Asikiyeofori, from Okirika is also a member of the pilot batch of the scheme. She was trained in hair dressing at one of the training centres in Port Harcourt and was retained and offered employment because of her diligence and dedication at the centre even after she completed her programme in October 2005. She has since left the centre and established a thriving hair dressing and beauty business in Port Harcourt with the help of the starter packs presented to her on graduation.
