Twenty physically challenged youths in Ebonyi State have been empowered for self reliance by the Industrial Training Fund under its maiden phase of skills training and empowerment programme.
Those empowered consisted of 10 males trained in Global System for Mobile Communication repairs and 10 females trained on wig and cap making.
The Area Manager of the Fund in Ebonyi State, Ifeyinwa Osagie, during the occasion, explained that the trainees have graduated after undergoing two months intensive training programme where they were impacted with skills in various vocations.
Osagie noted that in keeping with ITF’s culture, the trainees would be presented with start-up packs to enable them set up businesses immediately, adding that the training curriculum was fashioned to favour intensified skills acquisition, which equipped the trainees with relevant skills in the two-trade areas
While calling on other stakeholders such as the State Government, private sector and public spirited persons to complement the ITF in this regard, she assured that the Fund would not relent in building a pool of indigenous manpower sufficient to meet the nation’s industrial and economic needs.
Osagie said: “It is ITF’s duty to move the Nigerian manpower skills forward and we would not relent in building a pool of indigenous manpower sufficient to meet the nation’s economic needs.
“Presentation of start-up packs to trainees is a mark of ITF’s commitment to its avowed mandate and the Federal Government policy on job creation and economic diversification.
“We are happy to reach needy Nigerians and offer them jobs, but we lack the resources that will be sufficient for the teaming population.
“We therefore call on our stakeholders, state governments, the private sector and public-spirited individuals to support us in the quest for job creation and developing Nigeria’s human resource.”
In his remarks, Joseph Ari, Director General of ITF, said the skills acquisition and empowerment programme for the physically challenged was launched in August 2018 as part of its “implementable” programmes.
Ari, represented by Chinyere Okoroafor, said it was intended to equip Nigerians with skills for employability and entrepreneurship in line with the policy direction of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He noted that it was in its commitment to improve the lots of the vulnerable group that the ITF conceived the programme to equip them with skills to strengthen them socially and economically.
He explained: “Disability is phenomenon that spares no society — developed or underdeveloped, knows no boundaries and cuts across countries, sex, age, religion, race, social status, economic and political positions.
“We are concerned with the level of poverty that afflicts this sub-group as nine out of every 10 persons with disability in Nigeria live below poverty level.
“The graduation of these trainees is our first step in this regard and I congratulate them for being the programme’s first beneficiaries.
“I therefore enjoin them to take full advantage of the opportunity provided by the training to be self sustaining and contribute meaningfully to the economic development of the country.”
The Commissioner for Empowerment and Job Creation in Ebonyi State, Uchenna Orji, commended the ITF for initiating such pragramme targeted at the making the youths self sustaining.
Orji, represented by Emmanuel Edeh, assured that the state government would always collaborate with agencies that would complement its efforts in empowering its youths to make them employers of labour and shun crime.
Some of the resource persons who spoke to newsmen, including Victor Azudialu, Proprietor of Ogolivic Investment, appreciated the ITF for offering him the opportunity to impact skills in the trainees.
Many of the recipients expressed joy with the development and poured encomiums on ITF, promising to effectively utilize the skill to better their lots