SOS Children’s village commences skill acquisition programme

The SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria and CAP Plc have commenced YoithCan! programme which was designed to address the gaps faced by young people in determining their career path in life through developing the right set skills.

In a recent graduation ceremony for 25 young participants at the Dulux Painter’s Academy held in Lagos; in line with a partnership agreement between SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria and

CAP Plc for their YouthCan!, the Managing Director of CAP Plc, Mrs. Elemide, stated that the project gives opportunity for staffs to impact on the lives of younger generation that can ultimately continue as a cycle for the next generation.

Mrs. Elemide reiterated that CAP PLC remains committed to improving the quality of life of people and the environment through the quality of their brand and their contributions to the society.

The National Director of SOS Nigeria, Mr Eghosa in his response, appreciated the management of CAP PLC for taking up the YouthCan! partnership, saying that through it, Nigerian youths will be empowered as the rate of unemployment has gone beyond what government alone can handle.

Eghosa also charged the graduands on the need to upscale their skills to make themselves relevant in a fast moving technologically driven world; explaining that academic programme alone is no longer adequate for the average youth to excel especially with the current economic downturn in the country.

He further encouraged the youths to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the academy to build their business mindset by mastering and gaining more insight to develop their entrepreneurial skills, ensuring best practices, insisting on quality in their chosen careers.

The YouthCan! is a project of SOS Children’s Villages International, which leverages on corporate partnerships and it is designed to address the gaps faced by young people in determining their career path in life; through developing the right sets of skills and capacities for employment and business sector.

The YouthCan! which was also recently launched in Nigeria began its first corporate partnership with CAP PLC and this is a trickled down arrangement from their international Partners Akzo Nobel – Global partners for the YouthCan! project.

Some participant namely Emmanuel, Oladimeji, Kehinde and Eunice shared their experiences on the programme, with stories of a worthwhile training and field engagement and promised to adapt the skills acquired into use to make better life for themselves, as the training has instilled technical skills and business confidence in them.

They equally thanked the academy’s principal, facilitators, CAP PLC and SOS Nigeria for the opportunity given to them.

The 25 pioneer participants of the YouthCan! partnership of the Dulux Painters Academy are among the total of 49 young people to have graduated since the inception of the academy in 2014.

The Dulux Painters Academy is one of the two pillars of the corporate social responsibility projects of CAP PLC, for the YouthCan! partnership.