How LAPO MfB's skill acquisition empowers the poor

The skill acquisition programmes put in place by LAPO Microfinance Bank (MfB) has started yielding desired results following its impact on an SS2 student, Ms. Grace Nnana, who could not read or write prior to signing in for the programme. Specifically, Nnana, who could not even spell or identify the word ‘PUT’, is now able to do so. Other beneficiaries of the  programme include about 29 other youths, who were trained in different vocations such as Tailoring, Bead Making, Textile and Design, ICT, among others.

TRAINEE

The LAPO skill acquisition programme was designed to promote skills acquisition and vocational training among the youths in Nigeria, especially client’s children. The bank has already entered into agreement with the National Business for Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) to certify the trainees.
The maiden edition started in January this year with 30 young people between 15 to 23 years of age in Edo and Lagos States respectively. By the end of June which marks the first half of the year,the students would be seating for the NABTEB certification. However, the bank employed the effort of the Women Development Centre, Agege to train the students.
Meanwhile, Nnana’s mother, Mrs. Kingsley Nnana, a Tailor and beneficiary of the bank’s loan since 2010, expressed hope over her daughter’s improvement after taking part in the bank’s skill acquisition programnme. In a chart with Financial Vanguard, she said that she sold tailoring materials and whenever she obtained a loan, she investedit into the business and uses part of it to support her children’s school fees and meet other responsibilities.
I shed tears over my daughter – Grace Nnana’s Mother
“My daughter was training in the textile and design course, such as Bead Making, Hart Making, and others, but she could not cope because she was unable to read or write and it was mandatory for every student to write down whatever they were being taught. “Initially I thought they would send her away completely but they told me they were taking her to “Adult Literacy” and I accepted with all pleasure so long as it was under Lapo’s care.
“Of a truth, she could not write, although she went to school but she stopped in SS2 because she could not cope, so I decided to enrol her in a vocational centre but as God may have it, the opportunity came through LAPO and I fixed her. “There was a day I shed tears because of her. That day, I spelt ‘PUT’ for her to pronounce but she was unable to pronounce it. I cannot forget that day, but through the help of LAPO, she can now pronounce words that are even harder after the adult education.
“As soon as she is through with adult literacy, I would like her to go back to Textile or Fashion and Design to make ends meet in the future,” she said.     Nnana commended the bank and the Managing Director, Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, for extending the gesture to the poor masses through the Lift Above Poverty concept, saying, “so many people have been alleviated from suffering because when they give you money, you pay gradually. Lapo is helping a lot of women according to their name; Lift Above Poverty, so they are lifting so many people out of poevrty even the men.”
We want to make an impact – LAPO
Head, Sustainability, LAPO MfB, Ms. Brandie  Stevens-Igbe, said that the initiative was tailored around impacting lives after due dilligence on why most young people are not academically inclined but are good with their hands. Stevens-Igbe stated, “Some times last year, after due deliberation with the MD, we found that a lot of young people are not academically inclined, but are good with their hands, when you go to a mechanical workshop, you see little children, they know which tools to use, we did reaserach and found that skills acquisition would be better for them to be certified so that they too can be employers of labour in the future.
During our investigation we found that there are government organisations in Nigeria that actually deal with mass recruitment and training of young people, and one of those is the Nigerian Directorate of Employment, NDE, so we have been using their office in Benin, that is their training centre, we have put some students there and when they finish a six months course in either tailoring, hair dressing, bead making, ICT, whatever  course they may be studying, NDE does an assessment for them and we also send in NAPTEB to certify them.
She explained that NAPTEB’s involvment in the scheme was to prove transparency, saying, “to prove that we are not doing this because we want it to be said that LAPO is now doing skill acquisition. We want to acctually make an impact, because with the NAPTEB certificate you can go into higher education. “NAPTEB is recognised around the world as a board that actually certifies skills acquisition student properly and when our young people go abroad with their NABTEB certificates, it is easy for the countries abroad to contact NAPTEB to confirm.”
She hinted that the bank is pushing skills acquisition to empower the youths to be future employers of labour.   “if they are not academically inclined, they can learn a skill, a skill will empower them for life to be an employer of labour and have a voice in their communities and  families.”