The Director
General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari has hinted of plans
by the agency to train over 500 youths in 18 states of the federation on skill
acquisition.
The DG said
this when his four-month old management team paid a courtesy visit to the head
office of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation newspaper titles.
According to
him, arrangement has reached advanced stage for the takeoff of the fifth phase
of the National Industrial Skills Development Program (NISDP) in 18 states of
the federation to facilitate the mass training programme, adding that the
trainees will be trained by ITF per state.
The programme,
which is the initiative of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency
of Nigeria (SMEDAN), ITF and Bank Of Industry (BoI) under the Ministry of
Commerce Trade and Investment, would help youths to become employer of labour
thereby reducing unemployment in the country.
“Let us see
how you can help us rebuild the core of our training structure. Our goal is to
train young people who we call ‘Agro-preneurs’ and support them with credit,”
said Ari.
The ITF boss
added that the visit to The Nation was part of ITF’s Operation Reach Out programmes
geared towards human capacity development in the country.
He also hinted
of plans to partner with National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train corps
members during their one year programme in any skill they want “So that after
the programme they don’t need to seek for job under government but can be
employer of labour as we are doing everything to make sure we reduce
unemployment in this country.”
Ari further
said the organisation had also introduced the graduate re-skilling programme
aimed at training 500 graduates of engineering and technology with vocational
and entrepreneurial skills.
“The
Industrial Trust Fund, in its Graduate Re-skilling Programme, will train 500
graduates of Technology and Engineering with vocational and entrepreneurial
skills from each of the six geo-political zones. We are reviewing the ITF/DVT,
that is, German Chamber of Crafts and Commerce Dual, to train apprentices in
line with German Dual System, equipping and retooling of existing skills
training centres and procurement of Mobile Training Units,’’ he said.
Responding,
the General Manager, Vintage Press Limited, Mr. Soji Omotunde thanked the
management of ITF for the visit and promised the company’s commitment to
support them in reducing unemployment in the country.
“There is a
renewed effort to use the mass training programme to aid poverty eradication,
job creation and effective diversification of the economy as envisioned by the
federal government and will not succeed if Nigerians are not skilled,” he said.
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