Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe.

The Lagos State Government has trained 100 young people in event planning and management as part of efforts to equip them with skills to build businesses and earn livelihoods in the state’s growing events industry.

The beneficiaries graduated from the maiden Events Planning and Management Training Programme organised by the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, in collaboration with Zapphire Training School.

They were presented with certificates at a graduation ceremony held on Monday at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, with the theme, “From Passion to Profession: Unlocking Opportunities in Event Planning.”

The training was designed to give participants practical skills that could be applied in a sector that spans event coordination, production, catering, logistics, photography, entertainment and hospitality.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, said the initiative was aimed at moving young Lagosians beyond having creative interests to developing those interests into sustainable careers and businesses.

Ajigbotafe said the events industry had developed into a significant economic sector requiring more than creativity, with practitioners increasingly expected to possess organisational, digital, financial and professional skills.

He said the government’s intervention was therefore focused on giving participants market-relevant competencies that could improve their prospects for employment and entrepreneurship.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Wealth Creation and Employment, Stella Osafile, urged the graduates to approach event planning as a profession capable of providing opportunities for wealth creation rather than treating it merely as a side activity.

She said passion alone would not guarantee success in the industry, stressing the importance of discipline, knowledge, professionalism and continuous skills development.

Osafile also challenged the beneficiaries to build enterprises that could create employment for other young people instead of limiting their ambitions to securing jobs.

The practical training component was complemented by industry exposure, with the participants undertaking internships alongside professional event teams.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zapphire Events, Funke Bucknor, said the internship allowed the trainees to gain practical experience in planning, production, coordination and managing events on site.

Bucknor said the industry offered opportunities across several interconnected businesses, including catering, logistics, photography, entertainment and hospitality.

She urged the graduates to take the profession seriously and build the technical and business skills required to compete in the industry.

The training forms part of the Lagos State Government’s broader youth employment and wealth-creation interventions, which seek to equip young people with vocational and entrepreneurial skills that can translate into income-generating opportunities.