The Programme of skills acquisition under the administration of Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku is of strategic significance, considering the mounting challenges of unemployment in our time.
Coupled with social ills such as criminality and prostitution among women and youths, it is inevitable to give skills acquisition great primacy. Moreover, the restiveness of youths has given every serious government cause to tackle the vermin headlong.
        This is not by happenstance, but Governor Ishaku has planned it carefully right from the outset and it formed part of the Rescue Agenda of his administration. Indeed, upon coming into office in less than two weeks precisely on the 10 June 2015, Governor Ishaku initialled a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bank of Industries (BOI) for N700 Million, with the bank providing N350 Million, while the Taraba State Government provided half of the amount under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSE).
       On 4 April, 2016, government disbursed the money to beneficiaries of cooperative societies. It was an indication that the administration was preparing for a greater programme that would further impact women and youth to reduce unemployment in the Taraba landscape.
The administration moved swiftly by setting up institutional structures known as the Grassroots Team and the Rescue Team Watch to combine with relevant Ministries like the Rescue Team Watch to combine with relevant Ministries like Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation and Education to give impetus to the actualization of the programme.
     The Grassroots Matters Team comprises of a Special Adviser and two Senior Special Assistants coordinated by the Special Adviser (Manifesto Implementation) who collates and consolidates monthly reports for submission to the Executive Governor 
Because it is an effective representative of government at the grassroots, it conducts a monthly Town Hall Meeting, organized in one electoral ward to another of the 168 wards of the 16 local governments and Yangtu and Ngada Special Development Areas of the State.
Driven by the desire to reposition the State, Governor Ishaku in addressing the people of Taraba said, "This administration will strive to create and maintain an enabling environment conducive for the optimal participation and sustainable engagement of key stakeholders and partners. It will develop a sensitive and responsible political class, a vibrant and purpose-driven bureaucracy, a veritable resource base, and a robust broad-based economy.
"In line with this promise, the empowerment of Women and Youth assumed a centre stage. Scanning through the 168 wards, it chose in its first phase 336 youths to train in tailoring, shoemaking, soap making and woodcraft. Other training areas are carpentry, weaving, welding, hairdressing and computer studies.
.     The philosophy behind this, the governor explained, was "our resolve through the Rescue Agenda to embark on aggressive and deliberate measures to reduce the rate of unemployment among our teeming youths." Government voted enough money for trainers and trainees as well as securing starter packs to give beneficiaries a head start in the market by enabling them to be instant employers of labour.
      During the graduation of the 1st Batch of the Skills Acquisition and the inauguration of the 2nd batch trainees under the post Secondary Schools Youths Empowerment Programme of the Peter Akintola Youth Centre for Industrial Training, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Governor Ishaku was full of excitement. "When we came on board on the 29 May, 2015," he said, "we did promise the people of Taraba State of our resolve to reduce unemployment.