ANAMBRA 2021: DR. CHIDOZIE NWANKWO’S MASTERPLAN FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN ANAMBRA STATE

Nigeria of today is sitting on a huge keg of unemployment gunpowder that may explode with dire consequences. Already, the effects of this unemployment crisis is manifesting in the form of increased insecurity across the land.

Anambra State seems to be at the epicenter currently. This is a huge problem that is of utmost concern to Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo (Wichtech), the Governorship Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State. 

As a foremost entrepreneur and industrialist sitting on top of a conglomerate called Wichtech, Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo fully understands that continuous emphasis on white collar employment will not bridge the huge unemployment gap in Anambra State because there’s simply no enough new white collar vacancies to absorb the thousands of new graduates from tertiary institutions that flood the labour market yearly in Anambra State alone. 

The solution is therefore nestled in vocational education. That is why Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo is rolling out an ambitious vocational education master plan that would tap into the enormous amount of hidden skills and talents in our young population to drive an economic miracle similar to what the Asian Tigers achieved within a shortest while. 

AAC and Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo’s Vocational Education Plan involves two facets namely:

a. Incorporation of Vocational Training in our regular school curriculum from the primary to secondary school level.* This will not just be about adding vocational training for adding sake but every public school will have a fully kitted Vocational Training Center manned by skilled personnel who are well established in various skills and have their own ventures.

Practical is the priority here and it is hoped that by the time a child spends twelve years (from Primary 1 to Senior Secondary 3) learning and perfecting so many skills, upon graduation from secondary school, he/she is ready to survive without a white collar job or be under pressure to acquire tertiary education. He can go on from here. My Government will provide the enabling environment and capital for start-ups for people like this to excel.

b. The second facet of the Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo Vocational education plan is the *establishment of mega vocational training institutes across the 21 Local Government Areas of Anambra State*. These centers which will begin to come on stream within the first 12 months of the Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo administration, will be centers of excellence equipped with modern facilities and tools needed to teach various skills ranging from fabrications, production of fast moving consumer goods (soap, disinfectants, toothpicks, light chemicals etc), fashion and design, aluminum works, hair making, bakery, decorations, tiling, painting, carpentry, etc. 

These centers will churn out graduates ready to add value to the economy and increase the gross domestic product of the state tremendously. However, the plan does not stop at training, it goes all the way to provision of seed funding to start-ups through a dedicated agency of government known as the Vocational Education Development Agency (VEDA). VEDA will give outstanding graduands free kits and tools to commence their vocational trade with a seed funding. 

The agency will also assist its graduates who require additional funding to expand by facilitating low interest loans from Bank of Industry and other MSME lending windows established by the Central Bank of Nigeria. My Government will also buy from them and even engage them in doing various forms of work for the Government and get paid.

This is the Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo Vocational Education Master Plan. To make this a reality, Dear Anambrarians, we all need to vote massively for this uncommon transformer of our generation, Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo and his party, the African Action Congress (AAC)* on November 6, 2021.

A New Anambra is Possible with Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo and AAC!