Three hundred painters in Osun State have been trained by the Osun Schools Infrastructure Development, tagged O’Schools.
The training is part of the state government’s capacity building programme for artisans.
The 300 painters yesterday received certificates of competence after the training.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola said his administration would improve the state’s economy by exploiting local contents in project execution.
He said ongoing building projects in schools would be painted by the newly trained painters, adding that they have been trained to meet the government’s standard.
Aregbesola said the training is a gift from the state to the painters, which will serve them beyond the O’Schools project, which is time-bound.
He said the painters’ patronage would extend beyond the state once people know they are professionals, pledging that the training would extend to other professions.
Aregbesola said: “To give you an idea of the enormity of what is involved; construction is going on in 24 sites across the state and contracts for 30 new sites would be awarded in the next two weeks.
“This training is not a one-off exercise. It is one in a series that will cover other artisans. Capacity-building is part of our administration’s policies to give our people a decent living.”