The full meaning of SAED is Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development.
It is an important part of the NYSC orientation activities. The government understands that there are a lot of unemployed youths, and that with each graduation, this number rises. Hence, the role of SAED as a means to equip youth with skills that will make them employable and also fit to employ others.
The SAED department in NYSC is made up of two divisons:
1. Skills Acquisition Division
2. Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Division
According to what is written on the NYSC page, the functions of SAED is to:
1. Sensitise young graduates in skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development so as to make them self-reliant instead of depending on the government.
2. Make corps members realise the importance of acquiring a skill.
3. Connect corps members with other people who are experts in their chosen field in order to train them.
4. Provide funding opportunities for corps members. That is, they make it easy for you to get loans. And believe me, a lot of people get loans from SAED in NYSC camp.
5. Create room for partnerships that can benefit you and the skill you have acquired. They can also link you up with companies and organisations that will move you forward. And if you are good at what you do, you might be retained/recruited by NYSC to come train other corps members.
Back in camp, I was a part of the Food Processing group. Our trainer was a corps member. Batch A, while we were in Batch C. A lot of the trainers were corps members. I hope you know that they will be paid by NYSC.
So if you have a skill before going for NYSC camp, it might be nice to talk to the people in charge of SAED. Let them know your skill and see how you might train others. Secure the bag and get your coins.
A lot of us slept during the SAED lectures and the skill acquisition classes in camp. There’s no lie here. I blame it on their method of teaching, and maybe the fact that we were almost always too stressed before SAED classes. And then again, breakfast choices were sometimes odd. How can you serve us beans and pap and expect us not to sleep in a boring class? A class that is not conducive to begin with. See ehn, NYSC needs to do better.
But I have since realised how important it is to pay attention during SAED. If you are a prospective corps member, it might be helpful to follow my advice. Who knows, SAED could be the way you’ll become the next Dangote.
List of skills in the SAED curriculum:
1. Agro-allied.
2. Automobile.
3. Cosmetology.
4. Beadmaking.
5. Make-up.
6. Food processing.
7. Cosmetology.
8. Paint making.
9. Plumbing.
10. Garment making.
11. Shoe and bag making.
There are more, I think. Also, these skills vary from state to state.
Hello there! Thank you so much for always reading. Are there topics you’d like us to write about? Do you have any NYSC-related questions you want us to answer? Send us an email kunle@bigcabal.com We look forward to hearing from you. Xx
