6,190 Lagos Residents Turn New Skills Into Fresh Economic Opportunities

For thousands of Lagos residents, a new skill could mean more than a certificate; it could become the first step towards earning an income, starting a business or building a more secure future.

That opportunity came into sharper focus as 6,190 residents graduated from the 2025 Skills Acquisition Programme of the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA).

The beneficiaries, comprising 4,225 women and 1,963 men, were celebrated at a graduation ceremony held at the De Blue Roof, Lagos Television, Agidingbi, Ikeja.

The programme provides free vocational and entrepreneurial training, giving residents practical skills that can be converted into businesses, employment and sustainable livelihoods.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented at the ceremony by Secretary to the State Government Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, said the initiative was designed to help residents create economic opportunities for themselves while contributing to Lagos’ growth.

For some graduates, the training has already opened new possibilities.

Among those who completed the programme were Sinjeganji Prisca, trained in hairdressing and cosmetology; Okon Essien Babatunde, who studied woodwork and furniture making; Azeez Mariam, a catering and hotel management graduate; and Omotosho Fathia, who trained in fashion designing and dressmaking.

The state is also seeking to address one of the biggest challenges facing vocational trainees: how to move from learning a skill to actually earning from it.

Under the Micro Enterprise Support Initiative (MESI), more than 3,800 Lagos residents received productive equipment and business start-up support in 2026, including some outstanding graduates from the skills acquisition centres.

Speaking to the new graduates, Ariori Rachael Eyitayo urged them to embrace a “learning to earning” mindset, stressing the importance of quality, discipline, customer relations and understanding market needs.

The support extends beyond the classroom. WAPA operates 19 Skills Acquisition Centres across Lagos’ five IBILE divisions, alongside the Women Development Centre in Agege, bringing its training locations to 20. The programmes also reach grassroots, rural and riverine communities.

For the graduates, the real test now begins: turning newly acquired abilities into products, services, businesses and incomes.

And with training, equipment and enterprise support increasingly being linked together, Lagos is seeking to ensure that its residents do not simply learn a trade, but have a pathway to build a livelihood from it.