THE Delta State Government has charged the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) beneficiaries in Fashion Design and Tailoring to harness their hidden potentials creatively in order to become successful entrepreneurs in the Fashion Industry.
Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer of Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau, Prof Eric Eboh, made the call on Friday in Asaba during the Entrepreneurship and Business Management Training (EBMT) for 246 STEP beneficiaries of 2020/2021 Cycle.
Eboh pointed out that the training was organized to expose the beneficiaries to business management and entrepreneurship skills in order to help them succeed in their enterprises.
He affirmed that with the completion of the 2020/2021 STEP/YAGEP Cycle, the State Government has trained and established over 6,000 unemployed youths in vocational and agricultural enterprises through the job and wealth creation bureau.
According to Eboh, seasoned resource persons were selected to teach them business skills such as, “How to start and run your business, how to manage your business money, how to grow your business, how to market your product, how to relate well with your customers., how to keep business records and how to cope with business challenges.”
He said the EBMT is the last part of the STEP training programme which comes after the trainees have undergone four other activities namely the Screening/Selection Process, Orientation and Personal Effectiveness Training, Vocational Skills Training and Completion Proficiency Test.
While congratulating them on the successful completion of the various training activities and the Completion Proficiency Test, he advised them to find a shop, set-up and register their businesses immediately after the EBMT and establishment with starter pack.
Also, the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Youth Monitoring and Mentoring (DYMM), Mr Edward Mekwunye, charged them to make good use of the opportunity provided by the State Government to become great entrepreneurs and successful business owners.
He assured them that DYMM would visit them to verify their business status at their shops two months after establishment and to enrol them for mentorship programmmes in line with the mandate of the agency.
In his lectures entitled, “How to Start Your Business” and “How to Write a Business Plan,” a resource person, Pastor Afolabi Adun, urged the graduands to carry out feasibility study/market survey about the business in order to understand the business environment better before setting-up.
He enjoined them to take seriously customer care and proper record keeping at all times.
On her part, the Executive Assistant to the Governor/Coordinator Delta-UNIDO Centre & Export Initiative (DUCEI), Mrs Shimite Bello, in her lecture, “How to Market and Brand your Fashion Design Fashion and its Products from Start-Up,” tasked them to use their fashion skills as tools to become global entrepreneurs in the fashion market.
She emphasized that the end result and output of their productions would make them marketable in the global market, advising them to aspire to acquire more skills so as to attain perfection in their finished products.
In the same vein, the Creative Director of Signature Secret Fashion School, Dr Oreva Okowa, advised them to carve a niche for themselves by identifying specific areas of expertise in order to stand out among their competitors.
She urged them to register their businesses early enough, design their business logo and label as a way of branding their businesses.
Speaking in separate interviews, Ighomrore Evwikparobo ( Uvwie LGA) and Iwhiwhu Onoriode (Ethiope East) expressed gratitude to the State Government for the opportunity given to them to be enrolled in STEP, pledging to use the skills and knowledge acquired to become successful entrepreneurs and job creators.
By Gertrude Onyekachukwu-Uteh
