The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ITF

  • ITF: Nigeria lacks 925 trade skills

    Despite rising unemployment, numerous vacancies exist in several sectors which cannot be, either due to lack of requisite skills, or they are being filled by foreigners, the Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Sir Joseph Ari, has said.

    He said about 925 trade skills that could engage about 80 per cent of jobless youths have been found to be difficult to fill in the labour market.

    Ari said the result of a survey by the agency showed that “several disturbing facts emerged from the survey presented to stakeholders in Abuja in April this year. The report indicated that despite spiraling unemployment, 925 trades were either difficult, or hard to fill in the country’s labour market,” Ari told The Nation.

    He listed the sectors affected as agri-business and agro-allied, metal and solid minerals, oil and gas related industry, construction, light manufacturing and services.

    He said 19.7 per cent vacancies are in the housing sector, 13.9 per cent in petro-chemical sector, 14.7 per cent in other goods, 11.4 per cent in the auto industry and 10.3 per cent in textiles, among others.

    Ari said the agency has not been folding its hands on the matter, stressing that the Fund has, in an effort to build the capacity of Nigerians in the construction sector, introduced the Construction Skills Empowerment Programme (CONSEP).

    “The programme was informed by studies, which showed that although vacancies existed in this sector, they were being filled by persons other than Nigerians, because of the lack of requisite skills,” he said.

    He expressed the organisation’s readiness to deepen its skill acquisition programme so that the nation could start exporting skills to other countries as soon as possible.

    He said from 2050, Nigeria’s population will rise to 500 million and that if such population is skilled, the nation would, undoubtedly, be exporting skills to the rest of the world.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) puts unemployment rate in the country at double digits and at all-time high.

  • ITF gives Sept 13 deadline for players’ registration

    The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has given the deadline for the registration of players ahead of this year’s Lagos Open Tennis Championship.

    The Lagos Open will hold from 29 September to 13th October. 2018 at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

    The world tennis governing body states on its website that players willing to play in  Future 4 (1st leg) of the competition  in the men and women’s singles as well as the doubles events will have to register on or before 14:00 GMT of Thursday, 13th September, while withdrawal deadline has been fixed for Tuesday, 18th September.  Futures 4 will hold from Saturday 30th September with qualifying matches, while the Main draws serves off from Monday, 1st October with the final of the leg holding on Saturday, 6th October.

    Prize money of $25, 000 will be shared by players in Futures 4 in the men’s event, while the women share $25,000. Players are told to sign-in latest Thursday, 28th September by 18:00 GMT

    For the second leg (Futures 5), the deadline for registration is on Thursday, 20th September, withdrawal can be done on or before Tuesday, 25th October.

    The grand finale of the 2018 Lagos Open Tennis Championship will hold on Saturday, 13th October, when the governor of Lagos, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode will be the Special Guest of honour.

  • ITF trains NAF on skills acquisition

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has completed training 200 officers of Nigerian Air Force in different skills. The officers were drawn from all parts of the country and  it is expected that they will transfer the skills acquired to their jobs while others will learn from them.

    Its Director-General, Joseph Ari, spoke during the graduation ceremony of the batch B of Basic Works Skills Development Programme in Abuja. He assured  that the  trainees  have been equipped with tools, kits for use on the job.

    Represented by Director, Field Services Department at ITF, Mrs.  Adesola Taiwa, the DG said the first batch of 100 students graduated in February 2018.

    Ari said: “The 92 graduating today were drawn from the different commands and units across the country and have been trained for three months in six different areas, plumbing, welding and fabrication,  electrical installation and others.”

  • ITF to train 13,000 youths on skills

    THE Industrial Training Fund (ITF) is set to train 13,000 Nigerians across the country in 11 vocational skills.

    This is in line with its renewed effort to equip Nigerians with skills in accordance with its mandate and ensure the achievement of Federal Government’s policy on job/wealth creation.

    Its Director-General/Chief Executive, Sir Joseph Ari, who declared 2018 as a year of delivery, said the implementation of the programmes will start on various dates between July and August and end in November.

    Ari, who was addressing a meeting of Area Managers of ITF Area Offices and Managers of the Fund’s Training Centres at the ITF Centre for Excellence, Bukuru – Jos, explained that the declaration was informed by the growing realisation that accelerated skills acquisition was the only way to address rampant unemployment, especially among the youth.

    He said governments all over the world have turned to skills acquisition, which is the universal currency of the 21st century, to arm their citizenry with skills for employability and growth.

    The DG listed the skills programmes billed for implementation to include the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), the Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the Physically Challenged (STEPC), Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, and Designing and Garment Making.

    Within the same period, he said five other training programmes, including Post-Harvest Techniques and Product Development, Aqua-Culture/Fish Farming, Manure Production, Crop Production/Greenhouse Technology and Poultry Farming, that are aimed at equipping  farmers with the requisite skills for improved farm yield will be implemented using the Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) Model.

    Ari said: “The emphasis on skills for the agricultural sector was informed by the fact that it is the occupation of majority of Nigerians and a key component of the economic diversification agenda of the Federal Government.”

     

     

  • ITF partners NYSC on skill acquisition

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has partnered the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train youth corps members on skills to prepare them for economic realities.

    Youth corps members at the Iyana Ipaja, Lagos State NYSC camp were trained in bead making, make –up, desktop publishing, among others.

    The Director-General/ CEO of ITF, Mr. Joseph Ari, who was represented by the Deputy Director Mr. Bamidele Sunday, said the labour market has gone beyond certificate or degree.

    He said: “These days, interviews are done online, jobs are gotten online and having the understanding that most graduates are not really ready, we are doing this to ensure that the lucky ones get the job while the unsuccessful use the skill acquired here to create jobs for themselves.”

    The NYSC State Coordinator, Muhammed Momoh, welcomed the idea, saying it is in line with the objectives of  NYSC.

    “The partnership with ITF is a welcome development because what it isdoing is in line with the objective of our skill acquisition programme.”

  • ITF partners NYSC on skill acquisition

    The Industrial training Fund (ITF) has partnered with the National Youth Service Corpse to train youth corps members on skill acquisitions in order to prepare them for economic realities.

    The training which held recently at Iyana Ipaja NYSC camp had all corp members in attendance where they were trained on several skills like bead making, make –up, desktop publishing, among others.

    Speakingn on the initiative, the DG/ CEO Industrial Trust Fund, Mr Joseph N Ari who was represented by Deputy Director ITF Mr Oluwasemire James Bamidele Sunday said the labour market has gone beyond certificate or degree,

    “These days interviews are done online, jobs are gotten online and having the understanding that most of our graduate are not really ready, that is what we are trying to fill, so those that are lucky will get job and those who didn’t get job will use the skill and create jobs for themselves”, he said.

    Also, the Deputy Director, ITF Area Manager for the Badagry office, Mrs Funmi Coker said “due to the frightening unemployment situation in the country, the ITF came up with this initiative as part of their quick links in the ITF reviewed vision called the Industrial Training Fund Vulnerable and Indigent Youth empowerment programme. This initiative is to address the unemployment situation in the economy and the programme is to give Nigerian youths the opportunity to acquire relevant skills that will help them to be relevant to the economy.”

    The Nysc State Coordinator, Lagos state, Muhammed Momoh welcomed the idea, stating that it is in line with the objectives of NYSC.
    “The partnership with ITF is a welcome development because what they are doing is in line with the objective of our skill acquisition programme. NYSC is not doing it alone, we work with partners, so we leverage on the strength of our partners to ensure the corps members are well trained to establish their businesses. We are working with ILO, the Lagos business school and the ITF to assist in training our corp members, empower them with the requisite skills under their different initiative and we now take it from there to ensure they are now empowered to set up these businesses.”

  • ITF, UNIDO to match youths with jobs

    The Federal Government has come out with a document that will match skilled students under the ITF with jobs, the Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari has said.

    Ari, who stated this yesterday during the official presentation of a report on ITF, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) skills gap assessment in Nigeria, said this document “will guide us to work with greater exactitude and reasonable sense of purpose.”

    He said the report will also assure that the people we train in workshops and classrooms across the country will go into jobs that are already waiting, in sectors that are truly short of manpower.

    Ari said the ITF, in line with its mandate and its desire to take a leading role in all matters of hands on skills, entered into collaboration with UNIDO to conduct a skills survey.

    He said: “This is to provide information on industrial skills demand, supply and gaps in Nigeria, formulate in consultation with relevant stakeholders, policy recommendations and action plan to alleviate the skills gap. serve as basic for government investment in skills development in Nigeria and guide the work of concerned organisations.

    He stated that the report presented today is the work of years of toil of several agencies, who despite all odds strove to produce the document.

     

  • ITF empowers 300 Niger Delta youths in skills acquisition

    ITF empowers 300 Niger Delta youths in skills acquisition

    No fewer than 300 youths have graduated from a three-month skills acquisition programme organised by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) from the National Industrial Skills Development programme.

    The programme, according to ITF, was its contribution to the Federal Government’s policy of job/wealth creation and poverty reduction. It is equipping  youths with skills for jobs and entrepreneurship.

    The event, which took place in Asaba, the Delta State capital, was witnessed by top government functionaries, including Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

    The Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Mr. Joseph Ari, said 11,000 youths  were trained in Fashion Designing and Welding and Fabrication.

    Ari, who was represented by ICT Director Dickson Onouha,  said the event was significant in the history of ITF because it was the first time the agency  was providing start-up packs to beneficiaries.

    He said the decision to provide start-up packs for trainees was informed by the discovery that trainees with start-up packs had a 90 per cent success rate over those without starter packs.

    He said the start-up packs was a practical example and message to stakeholders that training without corresponding support would not lead to expected outcomes.

    He congratulated the trainess for being lucky to have their tools of trade ready as they were graduating.

    Ari cautioned trainees not to sell items presented to them, but “to go out and prove to the world that the three months you have endured were worth the while”.

    He added: “Apart from this phase of the NISDP that is coming to a close today, the ITF is implementing the Technical Skills Development Projects (TSDP), Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), and Agripreneur among other skill acquisition programmes that are targeted at job/wealth creation.”

    Ari urged the cooperation and assistance of stakeholders for its objectives to succeed, adding that ITF is interested in collaborating in any aspect of human capacity development and vocational education and training.

    Mr. Ari commended the State government for creating the enabling environment to train Delta youths and availing the State’s infrastructure for the training programme.

    Okowa, who was represented by Commissioner, Directorate of Local Government Affairs Joyce Overah congratulated the graduates for completing the course, stressing that the Federal Government’s skill acquisition programme was in line with his youth empowerment scheme that has created job opportunities for thousands of youths.

    He cautioned beneficiaries against selling the starter-packs presented to them, stressing that the skills acquired,   if diligently applied, could ensure financial independence of the graduates.

    Area Manager, ITF, Mr. Udeme Akpabio, said apart from the training, the graduates were also exposed for one week to the rudiments of setting up and managing small businesses.

    Akpabio said the trainees have been encouraged to form cooperative groups in order to access funding from the Bank of Industry.

    A beneficiary of the  Fashion and Designing training, Ugboko Abigail, was optimistic that the programme would alleviate her poverty, adding that the training had equipped her for the future.

    She admonished youths in the Niger Delta to get educated or acquire skills rather than engage in anti-social behaviours.

    Another beneficiary, Julius Agofure, 24-year old welder and fabricator, expressed joy at the skills acquired during the programme.

    He praised the ITF for empowering youths to become self-sufficient, adding that the programme should be strengthened by the Federal  Government for more youths to enroll.

    Emmanuel Celestine, 30-year-old graduate of welding and fabrication, who hails from Owa-Alero, Ika North East, admitted to having had some experience in welding, but lacked funds to establish his workshop.

    He said with the equipment and training provided by ITF he was confident of the future.

     

  • ‘Why ITF equips trainees’

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF), a manpower-development agency of the federal government, has explained why it does not stop at merely training youths, but also provides them with starter-packs.

    Speaking in Abakiliki, the Ebonyi State capital, where the Director-General Joseph Ari announced that the Fund has trained 11,000 youths in various skills nationwide, he said that youths trained without take-off capital or equipment end up wasting away with their skills.

    Sir Joseph, a knight of St Mulumba, said trainees who are given startup packs usually make a success of their training.

    The 11,000 were trained under the agency’s National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP).

    Ari was speaking at the Staff Development Centre Abakaliki, where the Ebomyi batch of the trainees held their graduation ceremonies.

    Ari was represented at the event by the Zonal Director in charge of Southeast, Mr Peter Agbo, an engineer.

    Ari said the training lasted three months during which the trainees learnt various skills including tailoring and fashion design, welding and fabrication and plumbing and pipe-fitting.

    Ari said the 11,000 trainees were drawn from the 36 states of the federation.

    Mr Ari said the agency decided to give the beneficiaries startup packs to enable them set up their businesses.

    “The decision to provide the packs was informed by our tracking and monitoring of trainees of earlier phases which revealed that where supported with startup packs, 90 percent of trainees went on to be successful entrepreneurs, or even employers of labour. Conversely where they were not, they were not as successful,” he said

    The DG cautioned the beneficiaries not to sell the equipment given to them but to make judicious use of them.

    “The startup packs are of high standard and cost the ITF millions of naira. Do not contemplate selling any of the items presented to you. Please go out and prove to the world that the 3 months you endured were worthwhile. Your destiny is in your hands, do not toy with it,” Mr Ari said.

    While harping on the need for unity among all Nigerians Mr Ari solicited for cooperation and assistance of various state governments and other stakeholders with the ITF to enable it achieve its mandate of developing the nation’s human resource.

    In a remark, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Industry, Sam Egwu commended the ITF for living up to its mandate and promised the support of the Committee especially in approving the budget of the agency to enable it do more for the teaming unemployed youths of the country.

    One of the beneficiaries, Anaele Ikenna promised that the Trainees will put to practice what they have been taught and strive to be good ambassadors of the agency.

     

  • ITF empowers 300 youths, women in Zamfara

    ITF empowers 300 youths, women in Zamfara

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has empowered 300 youths and women with various vocational skills in Zamfara State, under its National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP).

    Agency reports say ITF also supported the beneficiaries with tools as part of its efforts at reducing unemployment.

    At the closing of the three-month programme and presentation of the empowerment tools in Gusau, ITF Director-General Sir Joseph Ari said the NISDP was initiated by the ITF in line with the Federal Government policy on job/wealth creation and poverty reduction.

    Ari, represented by the Director, Technical and Vocational Services Department, Mr Isiyaku Yusuf, said the programme was aimed at equipping a large number of youths with vocational skills for employability and entrepreneurship.

    According to him, the over 11,000 trainees are expected to benefit from the programme across the 36 states of the country and Federal Capital Territory.

    “Three hundred youths and women were selected from the 14 local government areas of the state for the training,” he said.

    In his remarks, the state’s Deputy Governor, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala, commended the ITF for initiating the programme, saying that it was a timely and welcomed development.

    Wakkala said: “What ITF has done is in line with the state government’s policy to partner the Federal Government, organisations and private partners on training of youths in various skills acquisition to empower them to become self-reliant.

    “We are ever ready to partner and provide enabling environment to any organisation to improve the future of our youths.’’

    He urged beneficiaries of the programme to utilise all the skills learned from the programme for their future development.

    Earlier, the state ITF Area Manager, Alhaji Yakubu Umar, said the trainees were trained in tailoring and fashion design, welding and fabricating as well as plumbing and pipe-fitting.

    Umar said the training was carried out at the four ITF zonal centres in Gusau, Gummi, Kaura-Namoda and Talata-Mafara.

    He commended the co-operation given to the programme by the state government, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.