The Lagos State Government on Wednesday announced that it has placed 4,000 unemployed graduates on N40,000 monthly salary.

It, however, disclosed that the duration would be for a period of six months.

The statement was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, during the commemoration of Governor Bababjide Sanwo-Olu’s Second Year in Office.

According to her, the initiative implemented through the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment’s Graduate Internship Placement Programme (GIPP) is intended to address the challenge of unemployment among unemployed graduates in Lagos State.

Arobieke also said that the programme, which was planned to last for six months, would expose interns to a particular job, profession or industry and enhance networking.

The commissioner pointed out that interns will be given opportunity through the initiative to excel and possibly learn a job with the organization.

“The GIPP is meant to assist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and other companies to choose from the state’s database of groomed talent/interns, to enhance productivity and boost their businesses, thereby, promoting economic growth at no cost through the intervention of the state government,” she said.

Vanguard reported that a total of 51,514 graduates applied for the internship online, over 1,932 companies indicated interest to onboard the interns after their training and 4,736 applicants attempted the Online Assessment Test.

“About 1,000 candidates who scored a minimum of 60 per cent were invited for the first tranche of the employability skills training, while 4,000 interns are targeted to be placed on a monthly stipend of N40,000 for six months.

“You will agree with me that the state government under Sanwo-Olu is leaving no stone unturned in mitigating the unemployment scourge,” Arobieke said.

She said that the 2020 edition of this programme had 2,163 unemployed youths that participated in the webinar with seasoned practitioners in various fields or areas of specialisations as facilitators.