After hosting Icreate Africa Skills Festival in Kaduna and Enugu regions, Sterling Bank Plc and other sponsors of the project plan to host the grand finale of the second edition in Lagos by December.

At a press conference in Lagos, the Chief Client Engagement Officer of Sterling Bank, Mr. Moronfolu Fasinro, said the bank is partnering with Icreate Africa because it is committed to solving the unemployment challenge on the African continent.

'We know that youth employment is a key part of creating a society that is harmonious and productive.'

He added, 'We are very happy to partner with Icreate to produce this sort of opportunity so that these people could change the face of employment on the continent in the future.'

The Chief Marketing Officer of Sterling Bank, Mr. Dapo Martins said, 'we need to focus on exporting skills instead of concentrating only on the export of crude oil and agricultural products.'

The founder and CEO of Icreate Africa Skills Festival, Mr. Bright Jaja, said the only solution to the challenge of unemployment is to rebrand jobs away from the existing perception and notion that if one is not a medical doctor, lawyer or an engineer, he has failed.

He said Icreate targets creating five million jobs in five years by empowering about one million people who would, in turn, employ at least five people in their businesses.

Retail Marketing Manager of Bosch Nigeria Limited, Mr. Samson Ajayi, said as an engineering company that makes mechanical parts, they felt it was a unique opportunity to tap into in a bid to contribute its quota to the economy.

President of Universal Learn Direct Academia Limited (ULDA), Olawumi Gasper, said they were happy to work with Icreate.

Malissa Onojo, one of the champions of Icreate in the premier edition said the competition has helped her to be very confident and proud of her trade as a fashion designer. She called on the federal government to certify skills for artisans.

The 10 winners of the first edition represented Nigeria in Russia this year.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan