By Joshua Olomu
Government Secondary School (GSS) Wuse Zone 3 has emerged overall winner at the 2025 edition of the Vocational Festival, a talent hunt fiesta that features Secondary Schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
GSS Wuse edged others to emerge best winner at the grand finale of the event on Friday in Abuja.
The event featured competition in various activities, including community service challenge projects, crafts, culinary arts, dance performance, and cultural displays.
Other schools that won big at the grand finale included GSS Kuje,GSS Ushafa, GSS Dangara, GSS Bwari, GSS Byazhin, GSS Mpape as well as the Government Girls Secondary School Abaji and Government Science Secondary Tungamaje.
Earlier in his speech, Ossai Ilome, convener of the Vocational Festivals, said the initiative serves as a platform to ignite the spirit of innovation, community service and creativity among young people in the FCT.
According to him, the event, with the theme, “Showcasing Skills, Promoting Culture”, positions education and vocational training as central tools for youth empowerment, with the aim to empower Secondary School students in the territory.
He said the event was organised in partnership with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Secondary Education Board (SEB).
Ilome commended the SEB for supporting initiatives that empower students beyond the classroom, especially for championing vocational education.
According to him the Vocational Festivals also highlight the cultural diversity of the FCT, promoting unity, entrepreneurship, and council pride, while giving students a platform to discover their voices and potential.
He said through the initiative, schools and communities are being engaged in a shared vision of fostering a future where skills, culture, and education drive both personal and societal transformation.
“Every region in Nigeria is blessed with specific skill sets, but what we have seen lately is that most of these skills are now being abandoned for blue collar jobs, white collar jobs.
“However, we are now also discovering that the advent of artificial intelligence is going to disrupt these jobs.
“So we must begin to position ourselves to revitalise our economy, create jobs and safeguard ourselves against AI.
“This must be done by creating that consciousness for our people to begin to look inwards into those unique skills that set us apart, and that is what the vocational festival represents.
“By recognising and celebrating vocational skills alongside academic learning, we are investing in the next generation of innovators, creators, and cultural ambassadors,” he said.
In his welcome address, Dr Mohammed Ladan, Director, FCT SEB, said the programme was in line with the board’s vision of providing balanced education for students in the FCT.
Ladan, who was represented by Ehidiamen Gladys, Deputy Director Sports of the board, said the initiative was to celebrate the creativity, innovation, and cultural riches of our students in the FCT.
According to him, “Through this festival, we aim to promote cultural diversity by showcasing traditional dance, cuisine, and beauty, we celebrate the rich cultural heritage of our people.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Vocational Festival is an annual initiative designed to celebrate and elevate vocational skills, creativity, and cultural heritage among students.
Preliminaries of the event were held across various council clusters in the FCT, showcasing young talents ranging from community service challenge projects, skills and crafts, to culinary arts, performance, and cultural displays.
Through competitions, training, and cultural showcases, the festival crowns young ambassadors of skill and culture, while fostering pride, entrepreneurship, and youth empowerment.
Highlights of the this year’s edition include beauty pageant, cultural performances and special awards for individuals that championed initiatives for youth empowerment. (NAN)