Kwara State Government has finalised arrangement to float a Quickwin empowerment and employment scheme through which 8,200 youths would be provided with job opportunities this year.

In the first phase of the scheme, government said it would employ a total of 5,400 youths. The programme will cover six broad areas of entrepreneurship scheme, clean and green programme, Kwara Bridge Empowerment programme (KWABES), Kwara environmental corps, the state Road Traffic Maintenance Agency (KWARTMA) and the Kwara State Signage and Advertising Agency (KWASAA).

The chairman of the committee set by the state government to implement the programme, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, who is also the Secretary to the state government, disclosed this to journalists in Ilorin, the state capital, where he gave the breakdown of the 5,400 jobs to be offered to the youths in the first quarter of this year.

He said a total of 1,872 youths would be engaged under the entrepreneurship cadre; another 1,872 under the clean and green programme; 350 under the Kwara bridge empowerment programme; 1,100 youths under the Kwara environmental corps; 156 under KWARTMA, and 50 under KWASAA.

The SSG said the employment scheme is open to all youths resident in the state, irrespective of gender, political, religion and ethnic affiliations or state of origin.
He said in order to ensure equity and even spread of the available job opportunities “these positions will be distributed at the community level in consultation with community leaders to ensure grassroots penetration.

“Interested youths should therefore obtain forms from the Youth Empowerment Coordinators at their various local government headquarters. Let me conclude by assuring those interested youths who are not engaged in the first phase of the programme that an additional 200 youths will be engaged monthly until the whole 8,200 are fully absorbed.

“Finally, unlike other schemes, financial provision has been made for this intervention to ensure sustenance and prompt payment of beneficiaries’ stipends,” Gold added.