Trade School, Why You Must Invest in It.
Apart from aluminium fittings, no other trade is being learnt in Ibadan and Lagos and I guess the story is the same all over the country.
Yet in my area,covering about 1 kilometre square, there is no single plumber. The bricklayers you see are not trained, mostly they are those who went to buy the shovel and gauge having served as labourers to bricklayers for some time.
The reason why people are not learning the trades, I guess, is because there is no class attached to the training. In addition, the technical colleges are not enough.
In some places, they are not even available. People are setting up private polytechnics and Universities but no technical school, which will cost less.
You can start by leasing a building running courses like Plumbing. Electrical Engineering, Instrument Engineering, Electronics, Sign Writing and Refrigeration.
They will be trained for a period of three years before graduation when they will be issued certificates.
Of course, you will have to get approval from the government but you can start running and seek the approval later. If you want to make the kill train towards the attainment of a certificate recognised by the government.
The courses I have mentioned do not need much instrument to teach. Plumbing for instance, needs no more than wrench, dicing machine, some spanners.
The advantage is that, should you win a contract and there is no reason why not, your students will be your labour, free of charge.
How much to charge depends on the educational advancement of your area and the economic activities and demand.
Definitely, it will cost more to run a school like that in Lagos than in Kaduna or Umuahia. Please do not fool yourself that such schools have to be in the city.
With good advertisement people will come. After all, people send their wards to the A Level School at Offa, Kwara state. Liaise with trade school teachers for curriculum and resource persons
MARKETING. You need good advert on Radio and Paper to let people know there is money in trade learning, more than riding Okada.
They will be self-employed apart from many job opportunities. You may need to give free seminars on careers in secondary schools to sensitize the young ones that one can do well in life without going to the universities.
CAVEAT. Add class. Your own must be different from the backyard workshops.
