Terra Academy for the Arts (TAFTA), in partnership with Mastercard, has trained 28,000 young people in Kano State as part of efforts to boost economic empowerment and reduce youth unemployment.
TAFTA’s programme manager in Kano, Abubakar Balarabe, said at a recent event in Kano that the initiative aims to link skills acquisition with job opportunities and entrepreneurship.
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Participants were trained in areas including animation, scriptwriting, arts, business and entrepreneurship, sound design, and stage lighting, with the programme also implemented in Lagos and Ogun states.
Balarabe noted that the programme, now in its fourth year in Kano, deliberately targets young women, given their vulnerability and the broader social benefits of economically empowering them.
Several trainees expressed their satisfaction with the programme. One trainee in sound design said it opened up a new market for her and improved her career prospects.
Similarly, Fatima Saleh, who trained in scriptwriting, said the programme enhanced her skills and taught her ways to improve her business. She added that it gave her the opportunity to return to animation training, enabling her to promote her products internationally.
The TAFTA programme is part of broader efforts to equip youths with skills and knowledge, particularly in creative and technical fields, to help tackle unemployment in Nigeria.
