The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has revealed that its partnership with the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has produced over 12,603 highly skilled technicians in Nigeria within 12 years.
ITF’s Director General Sir Joseph Ari stated this on Thursday in Abuja explained that the survey has helped to highlight areas the country was lacking in skilled manpower.
In his words “Welding and Fabrication, Electrical/Electronic Maintenance, Auto Mechatronics, Automation and Process Control and Instrumentation among others.
“To ensure the success of the Project, the Partners, the ITF and NECA, adopted a robust but compact management structure that has not only guaranteed its effectiveness but also ensured its efficiency and numerous achievements”.
He further explained that the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) adopts the “brown-fields” approach for the skill acquisition programmes, which entails leveraging already existing facilities for Training.
“In this regard, the Project uses training facilities of NECA member companies (also called Participating Organizations), ITF Industrial Skills Training Centres and other selected Organizations.
“Also involved in the project are selected Federal and State Technical Colleges from all the six geo-political zones and the FCT, which have been provided with the requisite equipment, tools for practical work and workshops either newly constructed or renovated to bring them in sync with laid down standards for all facilities that are used for Project too ensure that all the objectives of the TSDP are met”.
Ari said “It is perhaps on account of the aforementioned measures that in the 12 years of its existence, the TSDP has achieved significant milestones, despite the numerous financial and socio-cultural challenges it faced and continues to face.
“From a mere six (6) participating organizations that trained and graduated 285 highly skilled Technicians when it commenced in 2010, the Project today boasts of having Supported fifty-nine (59) Participating Organizations (POS) and Technical Colleges with machinery and technical equipment while also graduating 54,603 highly skilled Technicians that are either employed in corporate organizations or have become entrepreneurs that are employing others,” he said.
Also, the Director Project of NECA, Celine Oni said the partnership has drastically contributed in closing the gap of unskilled manpower in Nigeria.
She further said the ITF and NECA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with over 30 Participating Organizations (POS), marking the flagged off of the 2022 training programmes.
