The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has charged employers to give priority attention to the welfare and safety of corps members assigned to them during each service cycle.
Director of NYSC South-south, Baba Ladan, who gave the charge during the 2023 NYSC Corps Employers Workshop held in Asaba, Delta State, stressed that employers have a great role to play in tackling certain recurring challenges in the operations of the NYSC scheme.
The theme of the workshop, ‘Harnessing the Potential of Corps Members through Effective Utilisation: The Role of Corps Employers’, underscored the objective of the scheme around confidence building through work ethics and instilling of patriotic ideals, Ladan noted.
Addressing the welfare needs of Corps members engaged by the different employers would go a long way in lifting their morale and energizing them for effective performance during their service year, he said, stressing that employers must take the Corps members as their children and wards.
The South-South NYSC director said, “The theme was carefully chosen to also emphasize our collective roles towards effective utilization of the service of corps members during their primary and secondary assignments.
“As critical stakeholders in the scheme, employers are saddled with the provision of facilities that are essential to the welfare of corps members and the smooth operations of the scheme.
“The NYSC Corps Employers’ Workshop creates a vital forum at which our corps employers and NYSC management can brainstorm on how to improve on corps members’ welfare and move the scheme forward in our various communities.
“The management and facilitators of the scheme can obtain first-hand information about the corps employer-employee relationship as well as receive suggestions to improve the scheme’s performance, especially the productivity of corps members in their various places of primary assignment.”
The State Co-ordinator NYSC Delta State, Alao Segun Olaosebikan, said that the workshop provided valuable insights for improving the scheme by facilitating “the exchange of ideas, fostering a conducive environment for Corps-members to provide high-quality and efficient services”, and ultimately enhancing NYSC service delivery capabilities.
The high point of the workshop in Delta was the Most Outstanding Corps Employer Award for the 2022/2023 service year to Mrs Nkechi Patience Ogo Okwuone, proprietress of Magnificent Bethel Int’l School.
Also honoured at the event was Dr Hillary Ibegbulem, former principal secretary to ex-Delta State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, for building and donating a modern, fully-equipped NYSC hostel in Otokpu in Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State. Ibegbulem was represented by Mr Blessing Ozomokwu.