Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies ( MINILS) and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China are set to deepen cooperation in critical areas of training, capacity building and skill acquisition for employability of Nigerian youths.
This was made known in Ilorin at the weekend in a statement issued by the Head of Special Duties of the Institute, Mr Emmanuel Ojo . According to the statement, the new Director General of the Institute for Labour Studies, Comrade Issa Aremu, mni met with His Excellency, Mr Cun Jianchun, the Ambassador of the Peoples’ Republic of China to Nigeria in Abuja on Wednesday last week.
The courtesy meeting focused on collaboration and partnership between MINILS and China Embassy in areas of institution building, peoples -to- peoples contact and technical assistance on vocational training.
In attendance were Mr Zhao Yong Minister counsellor of China Embassy, and Mr Song Huhang, the attache. Drawing on the lesson of China in youth employment and poverty eradication, the new Ambassador observed that the solution to mass youth employment in Africa was skill acquisition and skill upgrading for youth employability. He therefore expressed the readiness of China to partner with the labour Institute in entrepreneurship, vocational training for the youths as well as institutional building through social responsibility intervention of Chinese companies in Nigeria.
The National Institute for Labour a Studies was established in 1986 to contribute meaningfully to national development through regular capacity building training for the country’s workforce, organized trade unions, organized employers of labour and government officials on critical labour market issues like labour-management relations, best practices, industrial harmony and entrepreneurship for sustainable economic development.
Since its establishment, (MINILS) has trained a number of workers and employers from both the public and private sectors. The training with certification had helped in providing a conducive and harmonious environment to implement successful governments.
In a related development, the Director General, Comrade Aremu observed that “The dramatic transformation of People’s Republic of China from a backward, underdeveloped country into the second world largest economy in record time shows that massive investment in education is the most powerful weapon nations can change the world”.
He spoke in the week at a symposium organized by Chinese Cultural Centre to mark the 100 years of the founding of the Communist Party of China ( CPC). The symposium chaired by Senator Adamu Muhammed Bulkachuwa, Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs had Chinese Ambassador and Governor of Akwa Ibom , represented by his deputy as special Guests.
Participants at the anniversary hailed the achievements of China in dramatic transformation in economy, science and space technology, as well as absolute poverty eradication under the leadership of the Communist Party in the last 70 years. Comrade Aremu said “Notwithstanding the distance and geography”, Nigeria and China shared significant traits of big population size in Africa and Asia of 1.5 billion (official 1.3 billion) China, he said, is the largest in Asia, adding that “one of every two Asians is a Chinese, while one in every three persons in Africa is a Nigerian”.
He commended China- Nigeria relations under President Muhammadu Buhari citing what he called ‘unprecedented Railway renaissance” in Lagos- Ibadan, Abuja Kaduna and Itakpe- Ajaokuta new rail lines covering hundreds of kilometers.
