The Kwara state government, in collaboration with the state university yesterday commenced entrepreneurship training for 1,500 unemployed youths in the state.

Speaking during the flag off of the programme in Ilorin, the state capital, the Special Assistant to the governor on Youth Empowerment, Mallam Zakariyau Babatunde, said the training was for youths that lacked managerial ability and understanding of their operational environment.

The programme is to feature 50 participants on monthly basis.

Babatunde, who said the youths would be empowered with loan facility after the training programme, added that the university would also mentor the youth to monitor the progress and ensure periodic assessment of their ventures to ensure the loan facility does not go down the drain.

The governor's aide who said that about 70,000 unemployed youth were captured on the state government's data base, said the development called for drastic action with the need to provide opportunities, identify needs assessment, skill gap and demand-based solution.

Declaring the programme open, the Secretary to the State Government Alhaji Isiaka Gold, said that it was designed to produce employment and business creators rather than job seekers.

According to him, the programme would produce generation of entrepreneurs that would change and shape future economy of the state and the nation.