Collection, submission of STEP forms enter 3rd day across Delta LGA ~ Truth Reporters

 

By Gertrude Onyekachukwu-Uteh

The collection and submission of application forms into the 2020/2021 STEP Cycle has hit its fifth day in the 25 local government areas across the state.

The exercise, which is being carried out in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Delta State, is to enable unemployed youths within the age bracket 18 to 35 years to enroll for the State Government’s Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP).

The 2020/2021 STEP Cycle which is at its preliminary stage would offer successful candidates the opportunity to be trained in any vocational skill o their choice, in entrepreneurship and business management tips to help them own and run their business as youth entrepreneurs after establishment by the State Government. 

In an official statement by the Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau, the Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer, Prof. Eric Eboh, expressed satisfaction with the smooth take-off of the exercise. He enjoined the team to sustain the right attitude and efforts to the assignment with the aim of bringing the exercise to a successful completion.

Prof. Eboh stated that the exercise was being executed in collaboration with the NYSC to form a reliable state –wide-team involved in the giving out and return of STEP Application Forms.

While saying that the collaboration would engender neutrality in the exercise,  he called for continued commitment and strict compliance with the rules guiding the exercise such as giving of daily updates on the progress reports, maintaining orderliness at the designated collection points and strict adherence to the COVID-19 prevention protocols.

On his part, the Assistant Director of Community Development of NYSC in the State, Mr. Johnson Ainakhu, said one of their mandates was to collaborate with government and non-government organizations, adding that the exercise was not new to them.

He pointed out that the Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau was leveraging on their past track records to collaborate with them, emphasizing that the exercise was programmed to be a success as a result of the administrative procedures put in place by the Bureau right from the beginning.

Meanwhile, at Obiaruku, the Headquarter of Ukwuani Local Government Area (LGA), the STEP Programme Coordinator, Mr. Onyeisi Nkenchor, advised the candidates to fill the application forms properly. He tasked them to maintain orderliness to ensure a hitch-free exercise, assuring them that every local government area of the state would be represented in the STEP Programme.

Responding differently, Osiso Edith, who admitted she got the information through Whatsapp message expressed joy at being able to collect the form, saying she hoped to be trained in Hairdressing and Braiding. “If enrolled, trained and established, the programme will help me to become financially independent. The exercise is  smooth and without preferential treatment,” she emphasized.

Also at Orerokpe in Okpe LGA, Divine Tebegbraye was hopeful that he would be shortlisted for the programme to enable him join the league of successful beneficiaries of the STEP Programme.

In the same vein, in Koko, the headquarters of Warri North LGA, Omoko Tony and Omamuli Moju who applied for Fashion Designing and Tailoring and Cathering & Confectionery respectively in anticipation remarked that the programme would help them to own their own their businesses and become successful entrepreneurs.

The 2020/2021 STEP Programme is the sixth cycle since the Okowa-led administration and has given over 3,800 previously unemployed youths the opportunity to become business owners and managers.