From Gyang Bere, Jos
The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) said it is working with Federal Government on lifting 100 million Nigerians out of the scourge of poverty and unemployment.
The Director General, Joseph Ari disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing at its Centre of Excellence, Bukuru, in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
He noted that the Fund has trained 500,000 Nigerians within four years and it is determined to train over 7 million Nigerians in agriculture, construction and faculty maintenance, information and communication technology, manufacturing and services sectors between 2021 and 2031.
“The ITF was among the few agencies requested by Federal Government to forward submissions on lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. If our proposal, which is currently receiving the attention of the authorities is assented to, the ITF will train over 7 million Nigerians.
“We believe that until most Nigerians are equipped with competitive technical skills, we will, as a nation, continue to fight a losing battle against the blights of poverty and unemployment and their attendant consequences.”
Ari said ITF is inspired by the success stories from Japan, Germany, Vietnam, Singapore and Brazil that transformed into industrial power-houses and said prioritizing technical skills acquisition would transform Nigeria in that regards.
He explained that the Fund has entered into collaborations and partnerships with local and international organizations such as SENAI of Brazil, Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES) of Singapore, Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) in Israel, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) among others to provide requisite skills to drive the country out of the scourge of poverty.
Ari said ITF has tagged 2021 as the year of “skills escalation for prosperity” where over 12,000 Nigerians were going to be trained in between three and six months in Web design and programing, Advance computer networking, Mobile App development, iron bending, Masonry and crop production.
He said others are Agriculture, Poultry, Air-conditioning and refrigeration, plumbing GSM repair and Ladies’ wig cap making.
“Apart from the NISDP that will be implemented in all states of the federation and FCT, the rest of the kills intervention programmes will be shared among the states.
“What this means is that whereas some of the states will benefit from one of the skills intervention programmes, others will benefit from two or even three of the programmes.”
He said the ITF has also developed the Fund’s infrastructure in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to the reduction of infrastructure deficits and open access to Nigerians desirous of acquiring technical skills.