The Director General Industrial Training Funds, Sir Joseph Ari, has expressed the funds commitment to continually train Nigerians with required skills to reposition the counting.
He says a total of 1,900 Nigerians from 19 states of the Federation and the Federal have been trained in five trade areas, in addition to the Training of over 60,000 Nigerians from 2,300 organisations.
In addition, the DG said over 50,000 youths and other vulnerable groups were also train.
The DG disclosed this during an interactive session with Members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists ,NUJ Plateau State, said the Training covers areas like Brick Making, Plaster of Paris, Tiling, Electrical Installation and Carpentry.
Stressing that the current Management met the organization on the cusp of crisis – that manifested in consistent bad press and restiveness among the were forces, but has been able to resolve the crises both internal and external and has been able to return the organization on the path of growth.
He address that the ITF introduced a Reviewed Vision: Strategies for Mandate Actualization for a six-year plan that was conceived by the incumbent Management on assumption of office. It comprised of short term, medium and long term goals.
Ari said: “It commenced in late 2016 to terminate in 2022.
“It was designed to aggressively address service challenges, infrastructure deficits, revenue and a gamut of other strictures impinging the actualization of the Fund’s mandate.
“Two years into its implementation, the ITF trained over 60,000 Nigerians from 2,300 organisations.
“Also, over 50,000 youths and other vulnerable groups were equipped with skills for employability and entrepreneurship through programmes including the National Industrial Skills Development Programme, the Women Skills Empowerment Programme, Training on Wheels and the Technical Skills Development Project, among several other initiatives.
“In all, about 150,000 Nigerians have benefited from ITF training programmes since assumption of the current management.
“The ITF implemented numerous technical skills acquisition programmes as well as introduced new initiatives including the National Industrial Skills Development Programme, the Women Skills Empowerment Programme and the Skills Development Programme for Youths in Construction Trade among several others.
“The NISDP, our flagship technical vocational skills acquisition programme, which was run twice in 2016, has trained about 30,000 youths drawn from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory between late 2016 to date.
“ITF Model Skills Training Centre, Abuja, the Management procured the remainder of equipment that had stalled the graduation of trainees of Facility Technology and Mechatronics at the. With the installation, trainees of the Mechatronics Department have graduated while Facility Technology trainees will graduate later this year.”
The issue of certification, which was part the reasons for the delay in graduation has been resolved. Today, a graduate of our MSTC is a proud holder of the National Innovative Diploma Certificate which is equivalent to the National Diploma award by polytechnics and monotechnics.
Similarly, the Fund retooled and refitted its Industrial Skill Training Centres in Kano, Ikeja and Lokoja with the state-of-the-art training equipment for them to be able to impart cutting edge skills to Nigerians. These centres have since been chosen by the Federal Government for the N-Power programme.