NSDC International Limited, a subsidiary of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and the Sub-Saharan Africa Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network (SASASNET) Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote, standardise, coordinate, and support the skills and apprenticeship agenda in member countries at the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the headquarters of SASASNET, in Kaduna.
A statement by the NBTE spokesperson, Hajiya Fatimah Abubakar, said the MoU aims to foster collaboration between NSDC International and SASASNET to promote, standardize, coordinate, and support the skills and apprenticeship agenda in member countries.
She stated that the partnership signifies a milestone in advancing skills development and narrowing the existing skill gap across sectors in the Sub-Saharan African region.
Hajiya Fatimah said the MoU outlined areas of cooperation, to include; Strengthening Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) in SASASNET member countries; Knowledge support for setting up new SSCs; Sharing effective skills and lifelong learning strategies; Developing the skilling landscape, including policy interventions and work-based learning; Developing a strong industry interface through sectoral skill gap analysis.
Other areas according to her are; Developing sector-specific occupational standards; Digitization of TVET systems and processes; Setting up the Skill Authority; Skills for mutually beneficial migration; Innovation in the skilling ecosystem and Facilitating partnerships with stakeholders in member countries.
The spokesperson further said the MoU does not constitute a legally binding agreement but reflects the intentions of the parties to cooperate on ad-hoc projects and initiatives.
She said definitive agreements will follow the execution of the MoU.
She added the NSDC International Limited, is a subsidiary of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), established to fulfill the growing need for skilled manpower across sectors and narrow the existing skill gap between demand and supply of skills.
She stated that the Sub-Saharan Africa Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network (SASASNET) is a continental organisation established to promote, standardize, coordinate, and support the skills and apprenticeship agenda in member countries.
The MoU which was signed virtually has in attendance the CEO NSDC, Chair and SG SASASNET and Exco members as well as ILO representatives.
