By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
The Industrial Training Fund (ITF), said the agency has trained thousands of youths on various skills across the 36 States of the federation in the year under review (2021).
The Fund also said more than 16,000 Nigerians benefitted from some of the training programmes, and were also empowered with start-up packs in 2021.
The organisation equally disclosed that five of its skill training centres spread across the country trained a total of 3,397 Nigerians on various trades and crafts in the aforementioned year.
This was disclosed by the Director General of the Fund, Sir Joseph Ari, at the ITF award ceremony for 2021, held at its headquarters in Jos, the Plateau State Capital.
Ari listed the skill intervention programmes implemented by the fund in 2021 to include: National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP) and Agri-preneurship Skills.
Others were: Empowerment Programme (AGSEP), Federal Government Skills Empowerment Programme (FEGOSEP), Special Skills Intervention Programme (SSIP), Modular Skills Development Programme and Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP).
The Director General expressed the management’s commitment to equipping the citizenry with “technical and vocational skills for employability and entrepreneurship”.
He stressed that technical skills were integral to the growth and development of any society the world over.
According to him, effective utilisation of the skill acquisition model remains the most sustainable antidote to “poverty and unemployment” as well as a veritable catalyst to “economic growth and development”.
He explained that, as a show of the Fund’s commitment to ensuring that more Nigerians acquire skills, the Fund had commenced processes for the implementation of other skill intervention programmes for 2022.
Ari highlighted the programmes as: Passion 2 Profession Programme (P2PP), Construction Skills Empowerment Programme (CONSEP), Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP) and National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP).
Others were: Agri-preneurship Skills Empowerment Programme (AGSEP), Special Skills Development Programme (SSDP), ITF-NECA TSDP, Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the Physically Challenged (STEPP-C).
Aside the NISDP that would be implemented in all the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, the director-general said that the remaining programmes would be shared amongst the states.
He added that the programmes would be shared based on the likelihood of participants, to eke out sustainable livelihoods according to the needs of the states for such skills.
Highlight of the occasion was the presentation of awards to various area offices across the country, where the Isolo Area office in Lagos emerged as the best in training activities for 2021 under category A, while Ibadan Area office emerged as the best in training activities under category B.
The Calabar Area office emerged as the best in training activities in category C, Abuja Area office emerged as the best in revenue generation under category A.
Also, Abeokuta area office emerged as the best in revenue generation in category B and Lafia Area office in revenue generation under category C.
Lagos Island Area office emerged as the best performing area office and training centre under category A, while Ibadan Area office emerged the best under category B.
Calabar Area office emerged the best under category C, Ikeja area office as the best performing industrial skills training centre, while Ibadan area office emerged as the overall best performing Area office.
