From Gyang Bere, Jos
The Director General of Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari, said it has concluded plan to graduate over 1,000 trainees of the 2020 National Industrial Skills Development Programme as parts of President Muhammadu Buhari efforts to left most Nigerians from poverty.
He noted that the Fund has also mapped out strategy to for the implementation of its skills intervention Programme for the 2021.
Ari, in a press statement signed by Director, Public Affairs Department, Suleyol Fred Chagu, said the gesture is aimed at curbing the raising unemployment and poverty in Nigeria.
He noted that the grand closing ceremony, which will take place in Abuja on May 20, would be attended by Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammed Musa Bello and the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Yalwaji Katagum among others.
Ari said said the beneficiaries, whose training commenced in the last quarter of 2020, were equipped with skills in Tailoring, Cosmetology and Information and Communication Technology.
He noted that implementation of the programme amidst the COVID-19 pandemic was not only an expression of the ITF’s unyielding desire to fully discharge its mandate but also its message to all Nigerians that despite adversity and challenges, Nigeria as a country will always overcome with the right commitment, dedication and a will to succeed.
He added that in view of the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) unemployment Survey of Q4 of 2020, and rising incidences of insecurity and poverty, the ITF has declared year 2021 the Year of Skills Escalation for Prosperity and will implement another round of skills programmes including the Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the Physically Challenged (STEPP-C).
Other programmes are National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Passion to Profession Programme (P2PP), Construction Skills Empowerment Programme (CONSEP), Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), Agripreneurship Skills Empowerment Programme (AGSEP), amongst others.
In order to open access for more Nigerians to benefit from its services, the DG said efforts have been stepped up towards putting into active use the vocational wings that have been added to the newly commissioned Area Offices in Kano, Katsina and Lagos states.
He said until most Nigerians were equipped with the requisite skills to be employable or become employers, the attendant consequences of unemployment and poverty will persist.