15/09/2026
DAY : THE 8-DAY PROGRESS AGENDA SCORECARD
P — PIONEERING YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AND EMPLOYMENT
The first pillar of the Progress Agenda places young people at the heart of development.
For the Executive Chairman of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area and Deputy Chairman of ALGON, Enugu State, Barr. Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze, youth empowerment is about equipping young people with practical skills, creating opportunities for self-reliance and preparing them to become productive contributors to their families, communities and the wider economy.
The original vision was clear: create opportunities for skills development and entrepreneurship across the four development centres, equip young people with relevant skills and empower capable beneficiaries to establish themselves and, in turn, create opportunities for others.
That vision has moved from paper to practice.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING AT MARIO INSTITUTE
One of the strongest expressions of this vision is the administration’s investment in vocational training at Mario Institute, Uhunowerre.
Across different batches, over 300 young people from Igbo-Eze South have benefited from fully funded vocational training at the institute.
Through practical vocational education, beneficiaries are equipped with skills that can become sources of livelihood, enabling them to establish businesses, provide services, earn incomes and, with time, create employment opportunities for others.
For families, this can mean an additional source of income. For communities, it means more skilled hands and more locally available services. For Igbo-Eze South, it means a growing pool of young people with the capacity to participate actively in the local economy.
ST MARY’S AGRO INSTITUTE, UDI
The administration has also extended its investment in human capital to agriculture through the youth agro-training programme at St Mary’s Agro Institute, Udi.
Young people from Igbo-Eze South are acquiring practical agricultural knowledge and skills that can position them for greater participation in the agricultural value chain.
The objective is not simply to encourage young people to farm, but to expose them to agriculture as an enterprise with opportunities across production, agribusiness and other areas of the value chain.
AI TRAINING AND DIGITAL SKILLS
Recognising that the opportunities available to young people are increasingly shaped by technology, the administration has also embraced digital skills development.
In partnership with UNESCO and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, over 500 youths from Enugu North Senatorial Zone have been trained in Artificial Intelligence.
The training equips young people with knowledge that can support learning, innovation, productivity and participation in an increasingly technology-driven economy.
FROM TRAINING TO EMPLOYMENT
The partnership with the RED Foundation and Jobberman further complements these interventions by creating access to employability and career development opportunities for young people.
Taken together, these programmes reflect a deliberate approach to youth development: vocational skills, agricultural knowledge, digital skills and employability support.
ONGOING SKILLS TRAINING ON BEAUTY AND SPA SERVICES
The administration’s investment in skills development is also ongoing through the training of young people at Kesh Glow and Spa Academy, Beauty World, Ibagwa-Aka.
The programme spans all 16 wards of Igbo-Eze South, with one young person selected from each ward to acquire practical skills in beauty and spa services.
This ward-by-ward approach gives young people practical knowledge they can develop into businesses, sources of income and opportunities for others.
In less than two years , these interventions have reached young people across Igbo-Eze South and beyond, turning the youth empowerment pillar of the Progress Agenda from a policy promise into opportunities that people can see and experience.
And this is only the beginning.
More young people will be reached, more skills will be developed and more opportunities will be created as the administration takes this vision further.
2+2 IS STAMPED. ✅
