Since inception, the ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) has trained 56, 597 highly-skilled technicians who have been able to secure high-paying quality jobs, or have set up on their own.
Director-general, ITF, Sir Joseph Ari, dropped this hint during ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) stakeholders’ dialogue forum and outstanding trainees award ceremony, yesterday in Abuja.
Ari said the project had also witnessed a quantum leap from the initial six participating organisations to 89 today.
According to him, “The ITF-NECA TSDP is a response to the outcome of a joint survey of “Contemporary Manpower Requirement in the Nigerian Economy,” that was carried out by the ITF and NECA. The survey among others revealed skills mismatches and drastic skills shortages in many sectors of the economy leading to underemployment, unemployment and poverty.
“The Project was therefore conceived with the primary objective of promoting the availability of manpower with appropriate Technical and Vocational Skills to meet identified needs of industries and the country.
“The TSDP is implemented in conjunction with Participating Organisations (PO), which are NECA member companies, ITF Industrial Skills Training Centres and other select organisations.
“Also involved are 10 selected federal and state technical colleges from all the six geo-political zones and the FCT that were upgraded and supplied with modern training equipment and tools. It is equally noteworthy that, the TSDP also renovated training workshops for six technical colleges., while also donating modern state-of-the-art equipment and tools to other Participating Organisations, thereby expanding their capacity to conduct skills training.”
Graduates of the project that distinguished themselves in the course of the training, according to Ari were empowered with business start-up grants, linked others to employers of labour for direct employment and deployed International Labour Organisation (ILO) Start Your Business (SYB) Modules in training and entrepreneurship development.
While reiterating the commitment of ITF at ensuring that Nigerians are equipped and empowered with the requisite skills to drive the industrial change that the country needs, Ari urged the support of Nigerians and organisations to support the efforts of the Fund in the project.
He canvassed for synergy among institutions of government, adding that the tendency to work in silos or indulge in turf protection must be curbed.
According to him, the ITF-NECA TSDP presents a very good example.
“Without the committed efforts of the administration, the poverty and unemployment situation we are witnessing today could conceivably have been worse. The onus therefore rests on us as Nigerians to join the government, as individuals and institutions, and collectively work as one to effectively deal with these problems as the ITF and NECA are doing through the TSDP.
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