As a pointer to the pace of its activities in year 2020, which the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has tagged as “the year of great promise”, the ITF has concluded arrangements for the graduation of over 11,000 youths that were trained under one of the Fund’s skills acquisition programmes, the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP).
The Fund has also completed and is set to commission four projects that were executed by the incumbent Management of the Fund.
The Director-General/Chief Executive of the Industrial Training Fund, Sir Joseph Ari, who disclosed this in Jos on Monday, also affirmed the commitment of the Fund to ensuring full actualisation of the Fund’s mandate in order to grow the National economy.
Ari said that the beneficiaries, whose training commenced in the last quarter of 2019, were equipped with skills in nine trades namely, Leather Works (Shoe and Bag Making), Welding and Fabrication, Catering and Event Management, Tiling, Production and Laying of Interlock Tiles, Furniture Making, Domestic Electrical Wiring and Installation, Solar Energy Installation, Plumbing and Pipefitting, and Autogelle and Beauty Care.
Ari explained that the trade areas were chosen in view of their potential to provide sustainable livelihoods for the beneficiaries in view of the need for people with such skills.
He stated that like previous beneficiaries of the programme, the graduands would be empowered with the start-up packs to start their businesses.
The DG urged parents and guardians to encourage their children and wards to embrace skills acquisition, as white collar jobs were no longer available.
He added that the only way for President Buhari’s pledge to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty before the end of his tenure to be actualised, was for Nigerians to acquire skills and reaffirmed the determination of the ITF to ensure that as many Nigerians as possible were equipped with relevant skills for employability and growth.
On the commissioning, the DG stated that the projects, which include the Lagos Island Area Office Complex, the Headquarters’ Library Complex in Jos, the Mechatronics Workshop at Industrial Skills Training Centre (ISTC), Kano, and the Katsina Area Office Complex would be commissioned before the end of February, 2020.
He noted that apart from reducing the infrastructure deficit, which is one of key agenda of the Buhari Administration, the projects would deepen the Fund’s infrastructure and expand access for more Nigerians to benefit from the Fund’s services as some of the facilities would have fully equipped vocational wings for the training of Nigerians in various trades and crafts for employability and entrepreneurship.
