- To create employment through entrepreneurship, the Chief Executive Officer of Dewdrops Cakes, Ezinne Okonkwo, has called for the incorporation of baking into the school curriculum.
To create employment through entrepreneurship, the Chief Executive Officer of Dewdrops Cakes, Ezinne Okonkwo, has called for the incorporation of baking into the school curriculum.
Okonkwo said this at a briefing organised by her firm to announce the cake fare seminar scheduled to hold between September 3 and 4 in Lagos for cake artists to showcase their talents.
She argued that entrepreneurship was already replacing white-collar jobs, hence the need to make room for baking in the curricula of primary and secondary schools, as well as that of tertiary institutions.
She added that baking could become a sustainable means of income for youths and students in the country.
She noted that plans were underway to bring bakers together under the Nigeria Professional Bakers Association, which could push for the inclusion of baking into the school curriculum.
“We have so many Nigerian youths coming into baking. It is no longer our mother’s thing. The idea of sending pupils for summer lessons should be discouraged. When they begin to learn this skill at a young age, when they go to the higher institutions, it could be a source of income for them and in this era where white-collar jobs are scarce, they could make a living out of baking.
“Many of the bakers in the industry today are graduates, but right now they are creating a niche for themselves, focusing on their strength and getting International recognition. The younger ones are seeing that the industry is thriving and are saying after leaving school they want to join us,” Okonkwo said.
She called on the federal and state governments to step up in its responsibility in providing a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.
