Despite its challenges, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) is striving to bridge the manpower gap through aggressive training. The agency has trained 237,561 persons from 5, 815 organisations in the last one year, reports TOBA AGBOOLA.
For the nation to be out of its economic woes, constant training and retraining programmes are required for the youths to fit into new and existing jobs. One of the reasons for its economic woes, according to experts, is lack of training, which has created a huge gap in manpower. This, perhaps, was the reason for the establishment of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) some 43 years ago.
According to its Director-General (DG), Dr Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, the agency has intensified efforts at closing the industrial gap. Since its inception, the ITF has fed the industry with able hands, thus sustaining the measured growth that has so far been recorded.
The fund, under the current DG, has trained many youths on skills acquisition in the last one year. In the last year, the ITF has trained 237,561 Nigerians from 5, 815 organisations.
Also, 704 special intervention programmes were implemented, out of which 202,560 trainees secured employment. Not done, about 16,211 Nigerian women benefitted from specialised intervention programmes of the ITF and 83, 050 students equally participated in the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme.
The agency has also helped in training 1000 youths each from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). All these efforts were geared towards bridging the wide industrial gap in the country.
In a chat with the DG, at the graduation ceremony of the inaugural set of automobile technicians trained by Truck Masters Nigeria Ltd, under the ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP), she claimed that her administration has upgraded the bandwidth of the Fund’s communication system to serve current resource requirements, just as the agency’s library was digitized and revenue and reimbursement portals established.
The agency, she said, also entered into collaborations with Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria, for the training of 4000 artisans; Wavecrest College of Hospitality, for revamping MSN Culinary Department. Others are Nigeria Institute of Builders and Shell Petroleum Development Company.
According to her, the agency also strengthened its collaboration with Nigerian’s Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and expanded the ITF/DVT (Germany Chamber of Crafts and Commerce) to train apprentices in line with Germany’s dual system. She noted that her administration last year graduated the first batch of MSTC Trainees, reviewed and secured approval for a new staff regulations and conditions of service.
The ITF, Dr Chukkas-Onaeko said, is also engaging relevant stakeholders on training and effective implementation of its mandate, and sensitising Nigerians on the need to transit to non oil economy.
Highlighting how the fund is initiating proactive measures to achieve its mandate, Onaeko said students under its training programmes are challenged to impart knowledge provided by the fund and take charge of leading the nation and the continent into an era of sustainable economic development.
She said the vision of economic leadership on the continent by the country can only be achieved when adequate attention and commitment are shown by stakeholders in the quest to imbibe the nation’s youths with continuous vocational and technical knowledge that can create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for them and others.
According to her, trainees sponsored by the Fund in collaboration with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and other organisations would soon get international certifications.
She said ITF is working on getting an international certification programme for its trainees to enable them work anywhere in the world. According to her, the Fund has also been working with various established players in various industries such as agriculture, oil and gas, and automobile maintenance in order to train more youths.
The ITF’s continuous training through these collaborations, she said, is a move to support the government in reducing the rate of unemployment by placing technical education in the front burner. “I want to congratulate the graduating students, being the first set under the Automobile and Heavy Duty Maintenance and Technician Programme. With government’s automobile policy, I think this is the best time to take up such a task as taking up a skill in automobile industry, especially for heavy duty trucks, which are more complex,” she said.
According to her, the initiative is a major move to support government’s efforts at reducing the rate of unemployment among the youths. “Most importantly, it has been helping the players in the various industries to raise new breeds of excellently skilled youths to work for them here instead of relying on expatriates,” she said, adding that, “the ITF has been working on certifications for our trainees so that they can work anywhere in the world, because our programmes seem not to be enough”. “The certification, when ready will have our trainees take exams to qualify them for a diploma in the field of their training,” she said.
Dr Onaeko said this was necessary because it has been difficult to attract young people to technical skills because of the poor remuneration and recognition that the sector has been suffering. ”We have, therefore, been training our students not only on skilled manpower, but alongside good work ethics, good customer care, and also entrepreneurial skills,” she said.
NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Segun Oshinowo, said the purpose of the synergy is to reduce the rate of unemployment among youths by training them on how they can create jobs even with little capital at their disposal. “By being here, we hope to create jobs by getting the youths trained so that they can stand on their own,” he said, noting that there are huge potentials in the agricultural sector especially, in the area of aquaculture.
The NECA boss appealed to the government to support the initiatives with funds as both organisations lack financial capacity to carry out their assignments.
Managing Director, Truckmasters Ltd, Mr Tony Arenyeka, lauded the ITF-NECA collaboration for impacting the lives of the youths through technical skills acquisition. Arenyeka said Truckmasters Academy was training in areas of specialisation in electronics, mechanical panel beating and spraying, and workshop administration.
The Project Manager, TSDP, Mrs Helen Jemerigbe, said the training was a baby of the project, which has been on for six years. She said the project had been working with 12 companies, and technical colleges all over the country, and the training with Truckmasters Nigeria Ltd was the result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2014.
