Edo government, ITF empower 500 trainees with skills, others

In its mandate to address youth unemployment and encourage jobs creation, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in collaboration with the Edo State government has empowered 500 trainees in the state with skills, and start-up packs for employability and entrepreneurship in their various vocations.

Speaking yesterday at the closing ceremony of the second phase of the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) in Benin City, Director General of the ITF, Joseph Ari, said the essence of the programme was to sustain efforts towards equipping the youths with skills for employability and entrepreneurship.

Ari, who commended the Edo State government for the collaboration, scored Governor Godwin Obaseki high for his “Edo jobs” initiative targeted at providing 200,000 jobs in his first tenure.

He disclosed that the empowerment of youths was one of the initiatives of the ITF to key into the Federal Government’s policy of jobs and wealth creation.

He explained that the policy was aimed at ensuring that majority of our youths, who form a critical segment of the population were meaningfully engaged in the country through the NISDP programme.

“The reason for the Federal Government’s commitment to equipping Nigerians with technical skills is not far farfetched.

“Projections by the United Nations and other bodies are that Nigeria’s population will increase 500 million come year 2050, making it the third most populous nation in the world,” he said.

He noted that countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China, Singapore and other industrialised economies of the world were so today because of their investment in skills acquisition, adding, “We must, therefore, as governments and as institutions do more in terms of skills acquisition if the country will join this ratified group.

“It is in recognition of this that we in the ITF, the leading agency responsible for the impartation of skills have upped the ante. Even as we mark the closing ceremony of this programme.”

He added that the 2017 NISDP has commenced across the 36 states and the FCT and will train 300 Nigerians in three trades and crafts namely: Welding and fabrication, fashion and garment making, as well as plumbing and piping.

Responding, Obaseki, who commended the idea of ITF, provided support for the over 500 trainees of the NISDP with start-up packs and promised them seed capital to promote and encourage skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development in the state.