The Director General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Sir Joseph Ari, has tasked government and stakeholders on massive skill acquisition programme to address insecurity, social vices and poverty bedeviling Nigeria, as ITF trained 3,905 youth across the country.
Addressing the 2021 National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) graduation ceremony for 3,905 youth nationwide on catering and event management, plumbing and pipe fitting, Sir Joseph said with population of over 200 million, half of which are youth and most of whom are unemployed coupled with high number of out of school children, and raging poverty, the future looked bleak and dark without escalation of skill acquisition programmes.
The ITF DG, who was represented by the Director Corporate Planning, Mrs Furera Sambi Diki, however noted that with skills for employability and entrepreneurship being passed to the youth at all levels across the country, often complete with start-up capital, Nigeria can rise from the current challenges to a prosperous nation, while building potential for a better, brighter and more promising future.
“That we are contending with cultism, and other social vices and rising incidences of criminality is indicative of the fact that as a country we failed to apply the appropriate measures that would have turned our swelling population to a veritable advantage. This neglect when tied with the increasing number of out of school children, unemployment and poverty, the portents for our dear nation are bleak and warn of darker times ahead.
“But it is not all doom and gloom going by the policies and programmes that the Buhari administration has been implementing since 2015, which have empowered organisations to initiate and implement skills acquisition programmes like NISDP, which graduation we are witnessing today,” he said.
He said the NISDP was created in 2016 to ensure job creation, wealth creation and breeding a new generation of entrepreneurs to transform the economic landscape of Nigeria.
Ari however lamented that despite the high rate of unemployment in the country, there are vacancies in the economy that are only being filled by foreigners because of the absence of Nigerians with the requisite skills to fill such openings, while tasking those involved in human capital development to give Nigerians multi varied skills that would make them employable and fill their skill quota.
Area Manager, ITF Kaduna Area Office, Engr. Usman Jallo, in his remarks, said the 100 youths from Kaduna state were drawn from across the 23 local governments of Kaduna state.
“They were trained for three months in catering and event management and plumbing and pipe fitting. They were subjected to intensive hands-on training after which they were tested and certified to have fulfilled all the requirements to become entrepreneurs in their respective trades areas,” he said.
