The Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) has trained 100 Nigerian people in masonry under the Nigeria Youth Employment Skills Acquisition Fund (NYESAF) project.
President of FOCI, Mr Vincent Barrah, while speaking at the official flag-off ceremony of the project in Abuja, said that as the voice of Nigeria’s construction sector, it has consistently championed policies, interventions, and partnerships that strengthen the industry and support the workforce that drives it.
He said, “We view today’s event not just as a ceremonial flag-off but as a powerful statement that the time has come to invest in the next generation of builders and to do so boldly and intentionally. We started already in April. We are already two months into the programme. Today is just the official flag off.”
Barrah, speaking on the sidelines shortly after the event, added, “In the next four months or thereabouts, we will be through with this training program. As I said earlier, you can see practically what is on the ground. Maybe when you came here, you saw the trainees in action.
“We are training experts in all the skills that we have for now. Not only missions. We are not training only missions. We are also training carpenters. We are also training plumbers. We are also into electric cars for now. As I said, we are also to expand the scope to other skills. It’s one of our happiness because of the concept of this FSA. A time came when we lacked Nigerian artisan skills.”
Also speaking at the event, the programme officer for NYESAF, Blessing Osenwota, explained that the project is all about skills, training, certification and employment.
She said, “We train these students, certify them and ensure their placements in construction companies where their services are needed. The employment could either be self-employment or working in an industry. ”
She further stated, “Skills take the children off the streets and engage them in meaningful development. So, we are dishing out different skills on the NYESAF. We have cinematography, welding, farming, poultry, and fabrication.
We have skills in the agricultural sector, digital skills, and numerous other skills that these youths will definitely find interesting.
“The training is totally free. The federal government, through the World Bank, has paid for all that we are doing. It’s costing them good money to train one youth. And we are doing it passionately.”
