The Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund, Sir Joseph Ari, has called for more synergy among agencies of government in the area of human capacity building so as to tackle the rising level of unemployment in the country.
A press statement issued by Director Public Affairs Department of ITF, Suleyol Fred-Chagu quoted Ari as stating this, Monday, in a paper titled “Technical Education and National Development in Nigeria: Leveraging Human Capital Development for Technological Resilience,” delivered at the National War College, Abuja.
To address the level of unemployment in Nigeria, the ITF DG also called for harmonisation of certificates to remove the dichotomy between general education and technical and vocational education and training as well as enforce the monitoring and regulation of informal sectors that produce artisans to reduce quacks.
He told participants at the event that there was the need to strengthen collaboration between technical institutions and industries, to meet labour market demand.
In addition, the ITF DG stated that government needs to establish Teachers Industrial Work Experience Scheme (TIWES) as well as adopting measures that support human capacity development through engaging human expertise empowered by research.
He said, “It is pertinent for all stakeholders in the TVET ecosystem to understand their roles. Indeed, across the globe, countries that successfully deployed TVET for job creation and technological resilience did so on account of the synergy among its various institutions.
“However, in our dear country, rather than collaboration and cooperation, turf protection and the tendency to indulge in the blame game have firmly taken hold in most institutions that have bearing on the capacity building of Nigerians.
“For purposes of clarification, it needs to be stressed that the Industrial Training Fund is specifically mandated to promote, encourage and provide skilled manpower to meet the needs of both private and public sectors of the economy.”
