Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the immediate establishment of additional three Technical Colleges for the state, increasing the number of Technical and Vocational Colleges from five to eight.

This was disclosed on Monday by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule at the 2016 and 2017 graduation ceremony of the five Technical Colleges held at Agidingbi, Ikeja.

Adebule stated that the proposed Technical Colleges, which would be sited at Alimosho, Ibeju and Badagry, would further help to train the youths and unemployed graduates in acquiring new skills and opportunities to help them create jobs and be self-reliant.

The Deputy Governor, who noted that technical and vocational skills were crucial to achieving self-reliance and sustainable economic growth under the present economic recession, informed that the state government had invested heavily in the development of technical and vocational education in recognition of the role technical and vocational education plays in the provision of quality services and development.

“The fact remains that the best way by which we can help create employment opportunities, stimulate economic growth in our state and nation and alleviate poverty is to equip our youths with skills by which they can use in creating jobs for themselves and become self-reliant,” she averred.

While congratulating the 1,324 graduating students, Adebule urged them to justify government’s huge investment by maximising the training they received to impact on good service delivery and economic fortune of the state.

The Deputy Governor, while justifying the reason for focusing on technical and vocational education as a strategy for economic growth, maintained that reliable findings indicated that the state has the nation’s highest population of people less than 25 years of age at present, adding that by 2025, Lagos would be home to around 20 percent of the nation’s population aged 24 and below.

She explained further that the implication of the findings was that government must be ready to create jobs every year for the next two decades to prevent social unrest and youth restiveness.

In her welcome address, the Chairman of the Technical and Vocational Education Board, Mrs. Omolara Erogbogbo charged the new graduates to maximise the full advantage of technology in their various areas of specialisations to render quality services to the people and create wealth.

Erogbogbo stated that the realisation of the importance of technical education to economic recovery made the state government invest heavily in the area, urging the graduating students to use their acquired knowledge and skills to bring positive changes to the economy of the state and the nation.

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