Skills centre principal urges youths to learn skills

He said that even though they do not have a permanent site yet their temporary location is being leased to them for free and this has saved them a lot of costs, which bodes well for future growth and expansion. He also said that right now almost fifty students are undergoing training in both electrical wiring and satellite installation.

He said he has very experienced teachers, who are willing to help the youths of the country without any extra cost and that none of the students are paying anything. “I believe that in this new generation when you are not skillful, it would be very hard to survive,” said Mr. Njie.

He continued by saying that in this day and age, people with concrete skills who are productive and are of use to society are always respected.

He also said since the establishment of the training centre he has never gained a single butut out of it as his intention is for the youth of The Gambia to be gainfully employed and have set plans for their futures through the acquisition of the requisite skills.

Mr. Njie also said their main focus right now is to build a permanent place of their own as well as acquiring more training instruments and upgrading the facilities in general to improve the quality of teaching that takes place at the school.

Mr. Amara Sisawo, an electrical lecturer, pointed out that they are always ready to help the youths of New Jeshwang and the whole country at large in terms of trade. He advised the youths to change their habits and go and learn trades which will be of benefit to them in the future.

“I do not like to see youths sit on street corners complaining about everything under the sun, with their only serious ambition seeming to be to travel to Europe while they cannot even buy breakfast for themselves,” he fumed. He further said most of them do not even complete their school and they prefer living well without making any effort toward their own development.

He finally said the school is not just there for the youths of New Jeshwang but all interested youths in the country.

Also speaking to this reporter, one Lamin Marong, a satellite installation student, said he is pleased to be a part of the institution because he is being trained without paying any money.   

“I was just a mere street boy but however when the centre was established, I was lucky to be among the first people who started training here,” Mr. Marong said.

He also made mention of the fact that the training centre is not able to issue certificates yet but he also said that even without the certificates they will still be able to use their newly acquired skills to survive in the real world.

He concluded by urging the government, NGOs and even individuals to help them so that their training centre can be a proper school which will be authorized to issue certificates.