The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Thursday, said it would train 300 youths from Ogun state in order to acquire skills in vocational education.
The ITF area manager in the state, Mrs Funmi Coker, made this disclosure Thursday in Abeokuta when she led the Fund’s management team on a courtesy visit to the state deputy governor, Mrs Noumot Salako-Oyedele.
She said the traning would hold between August and October in Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Ilaro and Aiyetoro council areas of the state.
Coker said the organisation was established by the federal government to promote skill acquisition among youths and to provide capacity building for them.
“Since 2012, the ITF has embarked on different vocational training programmes for youths between the ages of 18 and 40, which constitute 70 per cent of the Nigerian population.
“In 2012, we trained 1,000 youths in each state of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), totaling 36,000 youths.
“In 2013 and 2014, we increased the figure to 2,000 in each state, including FCT.
“To make the training more effective, we have reduced the numbers to 300 from 2017 till date and we have been providing beneficiaries of our training programmes with start-up tools.
“We have done this in catering and event management, aluminum, fabrication and installation through the National Industrial Skill Development Programme (NISDP),” Coker said.
She said that the ITF maintains 21 training centres across the three senatorial districts of the state, adding that “most of the youth we trained are now employers of labour”.
She stressed that ITF training programmes were not meant only for graduates but open to secondary and basic school leaving certificate holders.
Coker noted that the trainees were also trained in financial management and feasibility studies in collaboration with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The deputy governor in her response, reiterated the commitment of the Dapo Abiodun-led administration in ensuring quality education for the youth at all levels.
Salako-Oyedele, therefore, expressed the readiness of the state government to partner with the ITF on the planned training.
She said the state government had concluded plan to convert the model colleges constructed by the immediate past administration to vocational and Information Communication Technology (ICT) training centres.
“There is the need to develop the education sector from all angles, which include the pupils and students, the learning environment, teaching materials, infrastructure of the schools as well as the welfare and training of the teachers.
“With increased collaboration, the ITF and the Ogun government can achieve the set objectives of training and empowering the youth in the state.” (NAN)
