ITF trained 2, 500 youths in Niger in 5yrs – DG
NAN-HE-26
Training
By Amen Gajira
Minna, Sept. 28, 2017 (NAN) The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) on Thursday said it had trained 2, 500 youths in Niger State under its National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) since 2012.
The Director General of ITF, Mr Joseph Ari, made this known at the flag-off ceremony of the 2017 NISDP in Minna.
Ari, who spoke through the ITF Minna Area Manager, Mrs Ifeoma Ihezue, said the programme for this his year would equip 300 youths in the state with skills in welding and fabrication, tailoring and fashion design, plumbing and pipe fitting.
According to him, the programme has trained 100, 000 Nigerians in over 30 trades and crafts since inception, adding that additional 11, 100 persons would be trained nationwide in 2017.
He said ITF introduced the NISDP because of lack of requisite indigenous technical skills in various sectors of the economy.
“As an institution, what we find most worrisome is the fact that despite the millions of Nigerians without work, vacancies exist in numerous sectors of the economy.
“And these vacancies are currently being filled by persons other than Nigerians because of lack of requisite technical skills by our people.
“It is with a view to arresting this problem, as it threatens the attainment of key government policies, that the ITF conceived the NISDP,” he said.
The ITF boss called on the state government to collaborate with the ITF in putting the country on the path of sustainable development through the implementation of accelerated skill acquisition programmes.
In his remarks, the Head of training in Minna Area office, Mr Joseph Aruwa, said each beneficiary would receive monthly stipend of N5000 and a starter pack at the end of the training.
Aruwa implored the beneficiaries to utilize the opportunity to learn skills in order to make impacts, adding that many applied, but only 300 were chosen.
The state Gov. Abubakar Bello, represented by Mr Gomna Aliyu, a Director in the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, said his government was committed to empowering youths so that they would create jobs and become assets to the society.
He said that skills acquisition was the way to go if the country was to create jobs and diversify the economy.
NAN reports that the ITF is a Federal Government Agency with the mandate of promoting and encouraging acquisition of skills with a view of generating a pool of indigenous manpower sufficient to meet the needs of the economy. (NAN)
AMEN/TÁ
Edited by Tajudeen Atitebi