The Lagos State government has commenced an internship scheme for final year students of tertiary institutions across the state, tagged ‘Ready, Set, Work,’ an initiative aimed at equipping fresh graduates with necessary skills to become job creators rather than job seekers.
The scheme, which is being anchored by the State’s Ministry of Education, commenced on June 11, 2016 with the training of over 1,500 students on basic digital skills.
The scheme is an intervention of the Lagos State Ministry of Education, aimed at providing Entrepreneurship and Employability training skills for final year students in Lagos State tertiary institutions.
Over 2,000 students filled the application form for the programme, out of which 500 were selected to participate in the pilot edition.
Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, in a statement on Tuesday disclosed that on the first day of the programme, students of Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), and Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET) gathered at the Main Auditorium of the Lagos State University, Ojo, to register for a digital training session by Google on some basic digital skills.
He said: “The session was open to all students, whether or not they were enrolled for the READY.SET.WORK programme. Over 1,500 students participated in the training. On the same day, about 40 professionals participated in a train-the-trainers workshop for the volunteer facilitators of the RSW programme, which also took place at another venue on the campus.
“The delegates for the training included volunteers from PricewaterhouseCoopers, First City Monument Bank, Access Bank, as well as faculty members from Lagos State University, Lagos State Polytechnic, and the Lagos State College of Health Technology.”
He added that the pilot scheme of the internship training would run for 13 consecutive Saturdays between June and September, commencing with a general module on soft skills, and followed by two specialised tracks in employability or entrepreneurship.
According to him, top performing students in the employability track will be placed on 6-month internship positions at partner organisations, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, SystemSpecs, Guaranty Trust Bank, First City Monument Bank, and Access Bank; while students in the entrepreneurship track with viable business models will have the opportunity to pitch to a panel of investors.
He said Seed Funding would also be made available to students with the best business ideas through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund and other funding agencies
