From left, Katsina State Commissioner for Land & Survey, Usman Nadada, representing Governor Aminu Bello Masari, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI),Prof.Mohammed Sani Haruna and one of the trainees, Mr Hamisu Adamu during the handing over of new tailoring equipment to beneficiaries in Daura, Katsina State.

The National Agency of Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is giving new skills to 100 youths including women in modern methods of tailoring and fashion design in katsina State, as part of a nationwide empowerment and job creation programme by the federal government.

Advanced sewing machines including modern equipment used for tailoring, design, trending embroidery machines worth millions of naira were handed over to the beneficiaries of the scheme with other starter packs to help them expand their businesses.

Speaking at the event in Daura, Katsina State, the Executive Vice Chairman /CE of NASENI, Engr. Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, while declaring the training opened said that tailoring and fashion design as a vocation had evolved over time and the trade had embraced advancements in technology and innovation, therefore, practitioners in the trade needed constant upgrade of their skills in order for them to keep pace with modern trends and to continue to be relevant in business. He said because the profession of fashion and design are closely tied to supply of daily needs of clothing, therefore, the profession is very lucrative, thereby encouraging the youths to continue to embrace it.

According to Prof. Haruna, the only missing link for the practitioners is “the absence of application of modern tools, techniques, creativity and capacity to deploy modern design techniques and use of advanced sewing machines and other modern tools for growth and business expansion” He said that these gaps observed with the operations by the practitioners were the areas that  President Muhammadu Buhari directed NASENI to fill for the women and youths in Daura, Katsina State and the environs.

One of the focal points of the Buhari Administration and promise to the youths was the creation of 10 million jobs before the end of the Administration. Prof. Haruna told the training participants that “it is important to note that the business of fashion and design is both lucrative and volatile, because it is about style, trend and human taste that are constantly changing by the day. Any tailor that is not updating his or her knowledge with modern system of patterns, trends, embroidery and fashion will be thrown out of business. He said this particular negative outcome was what President Buhari did not want for the tailoring and fashion vocation, hence, the President directed NASENI to carry out this training for the selected women and youths in Daura, katsina State.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Executive Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, represented by Usman Nadada, Commisioner for Land and Survey, commended President Buhari on the initiative to directly train the youths. He said through the “deployment of these modern equipment and upgrade of their skills, the beneficiaries would keep their jobs and their work also become interesting and sustainable and possibly find new customers beyond Katsina State”

The Member, House of Representatives, Nasiru Sani Zango Daura, representing  Zango/Baure Federal Constituency also applauded the President for using the upgrade of equipment and giving of new skills to empower the youths and women who are engaged in fashion and design in Daura, katsina State, saying that the training was viable because it would not only affect positively or directly the youths and women but also commended NASENI Chief Executive for the establishment of the new Engineering Materials and Equipment Development Institute (EMEDI) in Katsina State, and soon to be followed by the proposed establishment of silicon production factory in Katsina State. He said “all these are positive activities of NASENI that are bringing actual development to the State”.

The NASENI boss urged the trainees to utilize judiciously and guard jealously the expensive machines because they are the starter packs to launch them into modern ways and means in fashion and design, and to become more successful in their chosen vocation.

Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Prof.Mohammed Sani Haruna, during the opening ceremony of the Federal Government youth empowerment programme in Daura, Katsina State.

The training targets to improve the hands-on experience of the tailoring and design professionals in katsina State with advanced training tools like motorized straight Sewing Machine, Weaving Machine, pattern design, steaming pressing iron and many more occupational resources required to undertake all kinds of simple and complicated cloths design, homes fabrics to satisfy their customers and also to remain in business.

The100 trainees in the exercise were carefully selected from those already in the field of Fashion and tailoring design and who have been making their living from it.  This training therefore is to make them globally competitive and as a matter of fact to equip the participants in katsina State with modern equipment and machines and design for fashion so that products from the State would find both ready and more markets not only in Katsina but other parts of the country or beyond and also to generate more income in sustaining their families or to expand their businesses.