ITF To Produce ‘21st-Century Artisans’

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has unveiled plans to produce a new generation of 21st-century artisans equipped with technical, entrepreneurial and professional skills as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s skills gap and promote self-reliance.

Director-General of the Fund, Dr. Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, disclosed this in Jos during the commissioning of a newly rehabilitated and modernised filling station at the ITF headquarters.

Ogun said the Fund was expanding its interventions beyond conventional skills acquisition programmes, with plans to establish specialised training facilities and strengthen the capacity of young Nigerians to compete in a rapidly changing global economy.

He said the ITF Nigeria Skills Academy for secondary school students would expose participants not only to technical trades but also entrepreneurship, patriotism, professional ethics, industrial afety and project management.

According to him, the initiative would help produce a new generation of artisans who would be fundamentally different from the traditional artisans currently available in the country.

“We are not just teaching these children technical trades. We will incorporate entrepreneurship, patriotism, professional ethics, industrial safety and project management.

“When we train them this way, you will see them different from the old artisans.

ITF will continue to manage and support the old artisans, but we are determined to generate new 21st-century artisans, and we are starting from our children,” Ogun said.

The Director-General said the Fund was also planning the establishment and commissioning of several Digital Fabrication Centres across the country, including facilities for leather, shoes, textiles and ceramics.

He listed other projects lined up for commissioning to include modern staff quarters and the West Africa Digital Fabrication Centre in Ogba, Lagos.

Ogun said ITF, as Nigeria’s foremost training institution, had a responsibility to provide practical examples of the kind of skills development and dual education system required to transform the country’s workforce.

“Everybody is talking about dual education in Nigeria. We are the trainers of Nigeria and we must show the example.

“We are promoting, providing and encouraging the acquisition of skills. We are bringing up new generations of artisans who will be equipped for the challenges of the modern economy,” he said.

The ITF boss also expressed appreciation to members of management, staff and the two in-house unions, saying their criticisms and observations had contributed significantly to his growth in office.

According to him, leadership required continuous learning and openness to constructive criticism.

Meanwhile, the Fund commissioned a newly rehabilitated and modernised filling station at its headquarters, which Ogun said would serve both operational and staff welfare purposes.

He explained that the facility, which had remained abandoned and inactive for several years, was revived by the present management as part of efforts to improve operational efficiency and provide support for workers.

According to him, ITF staff would be issued cards to enable them purchase fuel at the station, with the cost deducted gradually from their salaries. “This filling station is not just for ITF vehicles as it used to be in the past. It is for our staff.

“We are workers and we understand that no matter how much you earn, there are times when it is not enough. You may have money to take care of your family but find yourself without cash to buy fuel.

“With this arrangement, you can access fuel and the amount can be deducted gradually from your salary,” he said.

As part of activities marking the commissioning, Ogun announced that the Fund would dispense 5,000 litres of petrol free of charge, with each of the first 500 vehicles receiving 10 litres.

Earlier, the Director of Estate Management at ITF, Meshieliza Dauda, said the filling station was strategically significant to the operations, administration and efficiency of the organisation.

Dauda said the facility, which occupies approximately 2,000 square metres, had remained inactive and underutilised for years before the present management directed its rehabilitation and modernisation.

He said the project was conceived as part of efforts to revive abandoned facilities and put them into productive use.

According to him, the station is equipped with modern dispensing pumps capable of facilitating efficient and simultaneous fuel dispensing, while provision had also been made for the installation of a Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, facility.

He added that a 52-square-metre administrative building was provided for the effective day-to-day management of the station.

Dauda said adequate safety measures, including firefighting equipment and other relevant safety installations, were incorporated into the facility to ensure the safe handling and dispensing of petroleum products.