The Lagos State government has advised youths in the state to embrace vocational education as a tool of economic emancipation. The call was made at the weekend by the Special Adviser to Ambode on Social Development, Mrs. Joyce Onafowokan during the graduation of 40 youths trained by Ikeja Electric (IE).

According to her, the rest of the world is not waiting to be hired but to be engaged through their own businesses. “Before now, the popular maxim was knowledge is power; but today knowledge by itself is not power but the application of it. If you do nothing with the skills you have, you will remain economic powerless,” she said.

The IE Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Felix Ofulue, said the firm trained 40 youths across its network in catering for two weeks to empower them to be self-reliant. According to Ofulue, the training is in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility designed to empower youths with entrepreneurial skills to reduce unemployment.

“We are deeply passionate about providing opportunities for the Nigerian youth to horne their entrepreneurial skills through various platforms. This initiative underscores our determination to enrich lives and contribute to humanity. We will continue to create robust platforms and opportunities to facilitate the dreams of our youths who have the ambition to succeed as entrepreneurs,’’ he said.He urged the beneficiaries, who were also given start-up tool kits, to take such training serious, as it would transform their lives.