Uwana Empowerment Centre

We are an empowerment centre in Ekosodin, Benin City, Nigeria. Our empowerment programs are centred on unemployed graduates. We train and link unemployed youths to career opportunities. We do this by searching job sites. We study the trend and locate jobs that are in high demand. We then prepare our curriculum based on the criteria needed for such jobs. We use this curriculum to train the youths. After the training, we link the trainees to internship opportunities in organizations that desire such skills (through partnership). The next stage is an application for a job. We also do custom trainings for organizations, that is, organizations can tell us what skills they need. If we don't have it we train people on those skills for the particular organization. We do this because the youth bulge theory is taking the adverse direction in our society. Gunnar Heinsohn (German scientist in the mid-1990s) gave this concept that as this generation of youths enter the workforce, it will either help countries move forward by providing demographic “dividends” or lack of opportunities will increase unemployment rates leadi9g to more violence and socially destructive acts, particularly by young men. The youths are the economic strength of any nation. However, without relevant and transferable skills to engage them in viable economic activities, the youth strength and mental capacity are underused. We have noticed that a lot of youths, in Ekosodin specifically, being restless in nature are engaging in ill acts causing harm to the society they are meant to build. Therefore arming them with relevant skills and linking them to jobs requiring such particular skills will reduce this restlessness and bring harmony to the society.