ITF, NECA partner to train Nigerian youths,

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) is to partner the National Employment Consultative Association (NECA) to train Nigerian youths in acquiring skills for the purpose of generating gainful employment.

The deal was sealed when the director general of NECA, Olusegun Oshinowo, and other top officials of the association paid a courtesy call on the DG of ITF, Sir Joseph Ari in at the Fund’s Corporate office, Abuja

Speaking at the event, Oshinowo declared that the partnership would go a long way to promote entrepreneurship and industries that have closed shops on account of technical issues, adding that they will come back to life.

He added that creation of jobs would go a long way in taking people out of illicit practices that have led to criminal activities in the Nigeria.

He however maintained that inclusive growth was important for the country, saying that NECA and ITF have considered it necessary to increase the capacity that would address the problem of unemployment in the economy.

Similarly, the Permanent Secretary in charge of Political and Economic Affairs in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Amb Bamgbose Olukunle who witnessed the transactions, commended the two bodies for embarking on the mission.

Ambassador Olakunle, who stood in for the SGF, Babachir Lawal, said such move is backed with the vision of confronting a challenge that has been a source of concern to industries and the economy, even as he promised that the office of the SGF would lend its support to all their training programmes.

In his remarks, the ITF DG said that the workable partnership had become necessary in the wake of the skills that various category of workers, industries and organizations need in order to carry out their day-to-day activity.

He described the arrangement as a very important and historic, adding that the event is coming at the time Nigeria is at a point where she is trying to take a leap into industrialization based on the economic diversification and industry policy of the present administration.
He also revealed that they were in the process of taking the industrialisation policy of the Muhammad Buhari administration to greater heights.

Sir Ari however added that policy of economic diversification and industrialisation was the direction to go in Nigeria, reasoning that it is a direction that has given some leverage and premium to all the developed nations of the world.

While stating that the relationship between the ITF and NECA has come a very long way, he noted that the main policy direction of the fund is to partner with the organised private sector that are key and critical to the mandate of the organisation just as he also stated that the Mou will strengthen technical competence of Nigerians.

In another development, the Fund revealed that it has kicked off the training of about 9,500 youths in Nigeria.
The youths who has started the training under the Fund’s National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) were drawn from 18 states of the federation. The training has however commenced 1st March, 2017.

This latest development was contained in a recent release from the Fund signed by its Abuja Corporate Manager, Dr Felix Otuwaripo.

He said that the Fund has also developed training packages to train young Nigerians in agric mechanization in partnership with Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) of Israel.

The Fund, the release went on has equipped and retooled Model Skills Training Centre in Abuja with the trainees to graduate September, 2017, adding that the Federal Government has recently approved for ITF, Model Skills and Training Centre (MSTC) in FCT.

The training centre will operate as an Innovative Enterprise Institution (IEI) and will be awarding National Innovative Diploma in seven trade areas.

The Fund has also commenced discussion with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), among others toward strengthening the Technical Skills Development Programme (TSDP) as well as in discussion with Truckmasters for training of young Nigerians in Business Development and other technical with vocational trades.

In order to make ITF accessible in different locations, the Fund, according to the release had recently opened new area officers in Owerri, Imo; Rumuokuta, Rivers; Badagry, Lagos states; and Gwagwalada in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).