Amidst pomp and pageantry, the Field of Skills and Dreams VTE Academy held its graduation ceremony on Tuesday at the premises of the Foundation for Skills Development, Ogba, Lagos.The event was attended by representatives of government, non-government organisations, the private sector and the media.In her welcome address at the occasion, the Founder and Managing Director, Foundation for Skills Development, Mrs. Omowale Ogunrinde reiterated the roles of the FSD which, from inception, had been creating hope of survival for the needy in the Nigerian society through training of such individuals in skills that would make them self-reliant in a nation plagued by economic downturn and irreversible joblessness.”Field of Skills and Dreams was given birth to by the realisation of the extent to which poverty was preventing able-bodied individuals from attaining resourceful existence and contributing to self and national development. We started the endeavour several years ago as a little unit with the assistance of and in collaboration with notable organisations that believed in the definite actualisation of our dreams and today, we have set up replica of what we have in Lagos in nearly all the states of the federation, training individuals in different skills including dressmaking/fashion designing, confectioneries’ production, electrical/electronic installations and maintenance, hair dressing and catering. On a regular basis at all our out-ststation departments throughout Nigeria, well trained individuals in these notable skills keep graduating into self-reliance and economic development”, she said.Ogunrinde added that what had been a source of joy and strength to the FSD had been the testimonies by the academy’s alumni members that are now all over the country, doing very well in their endeavours.”We would have closed shop if our graduates had not been encouraging us on the field with their display of rare and incomparable skills generated from FSD. That is what keeps us in the skills’ development business, if our graduates failed to project our image through their exceptional performances at their ends, we would have become irrelevant and special thanks are theirs for their nobility”, she added.In her remarks at the occasion, the Director for Entrepreneurship Development, Lagos State Ministry of Employment and Wealth Creation, Mrs Abiose, gave praises to Ogunrinde for the rare ingenuity displayed by her by founding the organization which she said had gone a good length in creating employment opportunities especially for resource-poor individuals who would otherwise have become destitutes and miscreants. She advised the graduands to make full use of the opportunities granted them by FSD to uplift themselves as well as the Nigerian society, at large.The Chief Executive Officer, Latitude Fashions, Ms. Ronke Fatogun, a prominent alumni member of the institution who also graced the occasion showered encomiums on Ogunrinde for her dogged and determined stance ensuring the institution continued to grow and attain its intent of societal development. She also advised graduands not to ignore humility in the operations of their business as it assists continued business growth and development.Some of the happy and elated graduands were also respondents to our correspondent at the August occasion.Mrs Akudo Eunice Ohegbulem, a graduand in hair dressing, in an emotional state, thanked FSD for the opportunity given her to express an innate skill she had wished to develop. She said she intended to, in addition to developing the skills she had acquired, bring innovativeness into her business in such a way as to enable her get projected beyond industry competitors and place herself at vantage position on the map of hair dressers/stylists.Mrs Tessy Bul, a graduand in catering also thanked FSD for making her dreams of providing nutritional care to would be customers a reality. She said the area of endeavour was that she had for long wished to invest in and the training by FSD had become handy to step her into immeasurable success in catering.Mr Olusegun Olasupo was very delighted and grateful to FSD for the opportunity given him to be trained in electrical/electronic installations/ maintenance. He decried a situation in which up till the moment in Nigeria, no indigenous company had embarked on production of air conditioners while adding that he intense to be a pioneer in air- conditioners’ manufacturing.
