The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has finalised plans to commence a skills acquisition project for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Nigeria.
The initiative, according to its Director-General, Mrs. Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, is in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to the reduction of poverty and crime across the country.
She spoke when she paid an unscheduled visit to the camps of the internally displaced persons in Jos.
Meanwhile, Consumer Protection Council (CPC) said it will begin a consumer education television programme today to equip consumers with the necessary skills for market interactions.
In a statement, CPC said the new move was designed to raise the bar of consumer education for Nigerian consumers to assume their rightful kingship position in their interactions in the market place.
The ITF chief assured the IDPs that the agency, in line with its mandate, would provide vocational and technical trainings and help open up employment opportunities, noting that the training programmes would kick off very soon.
The ongoing Skills Gaps Survey by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) will place Nigeria at par with other developed nations, experts have said.
Experts said the survey would improve ITF’s plan to provide training for employment and job creation, as well as identify the challenges of mismatches between skills demands and supply, which the country is grappling with.
Expressing optimism that the skills gap survey by ITF would also lead to the production of entrepreneurs and job creators in the country, Industrial Relations Practitioner and Managing Director of Soreb Consulting International, Mr. Kunle Rotimi, said the exercise will help Nigeria produce evidence based industrial skills development policies that can contribute towards alleviation of skills gaps in the industrial sector, thereby increasing productivity.
Rotimi, the author of “Conceptual Framework in Human Resource Development”, noted that the skills gap survey is driven by the requirements of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), which aims at providing baseline data that will guide government’s investment for skills development in Nigeria through identifying skills requirement, skills availability, skills gap, skills mismatch and skills supply.
According to him, the skills gap survey will further assist the nation in identifying the types of jobs that are available and the ease of filling such vacancies. It will also identify skills misallocation and skill gap within sectors and organisations.
Registrar/Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), Mr. Sunday Adeyemi, expressed optimism that the skills gap survey by ITF and UNIDO would address remedial actions to be taken by companies to overcome difficulties in finding candidates for vacancies that are difficult to fill.
Adeyemi also said the survey would support enterprises’ investment plans in the next decade or more years, adding that it was encouraging that ITF and UNIDO engaged the services of indigenous experts that developed the survey instrument in collaboration with the research and development faculty of the ITF.
A lone woman is helping to put the cheer on the faces of internally displaced persons (IDPs), not by giving them money but teaching them skills, writes GRACE OBIKE
It sure feels like blows coming from all sides. So many of them worked so hard to provide for themselves and their families. Some managed to raise properties. Then, suddenly, everything came crumbling down and they had nothing to call their own.
They now beg for food.
That has been the fate of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Northeast, who have lost all they worked so hard to acquire. They are now homeless.
Apart from witnessing the death and disappearance of their loved ones and neighbours, they also saw the assault by Boko Haram insurgents. One wonders if they will be able to recover from all this. While some are lucky enough to stay with relatives in other parts of the country, others are forced to settle in camps in inhuman conditions.
But with the rescue of about 1000 persons who were kidnapped by the Boko Haram insurgents by Nigerian military, most of these people are eager to return home and start life afresh.
•Amina Muhammed with her two-week-old baby
A mother of three, Amina Muhammed, in an interview with Abuja Review said: “When peace returns to Gwoza, I will like to return. I don’t like it here because as a person, you feel free in your own house rather than having to squat in such conditions. Some of us were landlords back home. Most of our men had good jobs and businesses but now it is all gone. We are suffering here; staying in Abuja is not fun at all.”
Although some individuals have taken it upon themselves to provide food and clothes for the IDPs in different parts of the country, another individual has taken it upon herself to empower the women. They call her Mama IDP at the Area 1 Camp and a lot of them have nice things to say about the woman who prefers to remain anonymous. She said at first, she, like other well-meaning Nigerians, had began with providing them with food and clothing items weekly but she went further to provide them with skill acquisition programme where the women are taught bleach making, liquid soap making, making of dusting powder and vaseline.
“They have lost everything and need support in starting life afresh when they return home. The idea is for them to make a little money and learn few necessary skills before they return back to their states, where, hopefully, they can use it to start life afresh.
“Five months ago when we visited here, we began bringing food on weekly basis and realised that there was no learning centre and the children were not going to school; they were always running around dirty and their parents could hardly control them.
“So, with the help of friends, we were able to open a learning centre in the uncompleted building where 13 families lived for the past nine months but the woman that owns the building needs to continue with her building so she has asked them to vacate.
“Five weeks ago, we began a training programme that will empower these women so that when they go back home, they will be able to have some kind of skills to help them generate income so that they can help their families because they have lost everything back home.
“We need volunteer teachers for the learning centres. We have children that are of secondary school age but because we don’t have the facilities for them, they cannot come to the school. We have almost 20 children that should be in the JSS category. We still need funds to buy sewing machines and teach them how to make pastries like akara and other things so that they can raise funds for themselves.
“This camp needs things as little as sanitary pads for their monthly periods and pants. Most of the children do not have pants to wear. We need pairs of slippers, clothes and we need things that people may not want as they are valuable here. We also need old toys.
“We need counselling for these people. We need prayers and support. They have lost everything; they saw their children being slaughtered in front of them. For me, my emphasis is on women because they run the home, my emphasis is to develop the skills of the women because most of them have no skills and they just wait on their men to bring money for food.
“My emphasis is also on the men; they need a source of livelihood, they need their pride and dignity restored. If they can go out and source for a job and bring food on the table that will be a thing of pride for them. Most of them do not have it now so they can resort to any kind of menace.
“These women are very hard working. In two days, they have mastered how to produce the soap, dusting powder and Vaseline among others. They are not only hard working, they are intelligent. We have been training them for the past five weeks, we intend to harvest the best hands here and take them to another IDP camp to train those ones as well, so that when they return home, they have some skills to do. It’s not about anybody taking the glory but about man helping man.”
Amina Muhammed added: “I have stayed in this camp for seven months. From Gwoza, we trekked to Madaghalli and I was pregnant at the time. From Madaghalli, someone gave us a lift to Maiduguri and we got another free transportation to Abuja.
“While in Abuja, a woman, Aunty Habiba came here and took us the pregnant women to the police hospital for antenatal and when it was time for me to be delivered of my baby, she took me to the hospital and I had my baby through caesarean. She took care of the bills. When peace returns to Gwoza, I will like to return. I don’t like it here because as a person, you feel free in your own house than having to squat in such conditions. Some of us were landlords back home; most of our men had good jobs and businesses but now all are gone. We are suffering here; staying in Abuja is not fun at all.
•Their unsanitary living space
“The owner of the building has asked us to vacate because she has actually helped us with her place but she needs to complete her building. Some people are unable to provide the money to pay for their shacks but I gave them money for mine to be built and for the others that cannot afford to pay for theirs, mama IDP is assisting them with it.”
Woman leader of the camp told Abuja Review that although they appreciate residents of Abuja that provided them with food item often, they have better appreciation of the programme because they can earn a living on their own someday without having to live off other people or continue to beg.
She said: “Yes, all our women took part in the skills acquisition programme provided by Mama IDP. When we go home, we will have things to do that will help us a lot compared to how people simply provide us with food. But this is something that even if we return home, we will have something to do instead of staying idle. We will be able to purchase the chemicals ourselves and make the products for sale.
“Honestly, staying in Abuja is only for people who are accustomed to it because if not for people that have been assisting us in this city, how would we have survived? To eat is a problem. We have to buy. Who will want to live his home where things are much simpler? Staying in the village is so much easier than this Abuja life.
“We are not safe even from security officials who harass us all the time. They came in the middle of the night the other day and packed all our men away for no reason although all of them have been released now. When we asked questions, they said it is a simple routine patrol but what kind of patrol will make them take people away in the presence of his children for no reason. Why then will we want to stay in a place like this with all the troubles?
“Unfortunately we enjoyed learning this work and hope to continue on our own, we do not have the startup capital to purchase all the chemicals required. So, we are pleading with well-meaning Nigerians not to be tired of us. They should continue to help us as they have been doing. They should provide us with the startup capital and direct us to where to buy all the chemicals needed to produce all these things.
•Kegs of liquid soap made by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at an Abuja camp
“Although when we make all the items, we will not sell them as expensive as they are selling them here; we will make and sell them cheap so that it will be affordable to the poor and we can exhaust our products and make new ones.”the products IDP’s learnt during the programme
The pioneer and immediate Vice Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Professor Sidi Osho, has urged the Polytechnic Students across the country to embrace skill acquisition rather than dwelling on disparity between the BSC and Higher National Diploma (HND).
She said both the Polytechnic and University students should see education as the bedrock of successful career.
The Don who spoke on Tuesday at an education summit tagged “The Nigerian Education System-The Role of the SOF Education” held in Ibadan said her foundation has created opportunities for many students to adopt self-reliance rather than depending on government for survival.
She said: “We set up this summit to encourage our polytechnic students to embrace skill acquisition rather than depending on the federal government for survival.”
The guest speaker and the representative of the World Bank at the event, Dr. Olatunde Adekola spoke of the effort of polytechnic and vocational education in transforming National economy.
He urged government to invest in technical education especially the teachers and lecturers in such institutions.
“We need to trust our technical instructors and their ability to deliver. Nigeria should support our institutions with fund so as to improve their teaching skills.
“Some advanced countries of the world like Singapore, South Korea and Finland have discovered the role of technical education in national development and it has contributed to the development of their economy,” he said.
The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has trained 74,000 young Nigerians in different technical and vocational trades, its Director-General, Dr. Juliet Chukkas – Onaeko, has said.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ engagement forum in Lagos on Zero Oil Policy and Economic Growth: The ITF Perspective, she said the programme was ongoing.
She appealed to stakeholders for support and collaborate to consolidate on the ongoing training programmes in the different sectors of the economy.
She said: “So far, 74, 000 young Nigerians have been trained in different technical and vocational trade areas. Most of the trainees secured employment immediately on completion of their training, while a large number of them have established businesses of their own and are doing well.”
Mrs. Chukkas–Onaeko said the technical skills development programme is being run using facilities of employers in different parts of the country and ITF Skills Training Centres, adding that over 2,300 trainees have so far benefitted from this partnership.
She also said ITF has entered into technical collaboration with Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN) for the training of craftsmen and artisans in the construction industry.
She said the Federal Government has introduced various policies to reform the economy in order to place it on sustainable economic growth and stability.
She said: “As a proactive organisation, we have acquired four mobile workshops to complement our existing industrial skills training centres. These will increase accessibility to skills training in all nooks and crannies of the country and ensure that our young men and women acquire relevant skills to fit into existing and new jobs.
“The ITF has also refocused its training programme to equip two million youths annually with employable and life skills required for self and paid employment. We hope that the outcome will be drastic reduction in unemployment and restiveness across the country.”
The ITF boss said most of the trainees secures employment immediately after completion of their training, while large number of them have established businesses on their own and are doing well. “This laudable programme is on-going and we need your support and collaboration to strengthen and consolidate it,” she said.
Mrs. Chukkas – Onaeko said ITF is also in partnership with Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) for the training of young Nigerians in various skills, adding that the Technical Skill Development Programme (TSDP) is being run using facilities of employers in different parts of the country and ITF’s skills training centre.
According to her, the seminar is expected to attend to all concerns. “We shall highlight the key activities of ITF; the collaborations we have made over the years and the various reforms we are putting in place to support the Federal Government policy to transit from oil to other sectors,” she said.
Mrs. Chukkas – Onaeko, said in line with trends in the international community, the Federal Government has introduced various policies to reform the economy and place it on a sustainable economic growth and stability.
Of particular importance was the launch of the Transformation Agenda, which emphasised growth in manufacturing, agriculture, power, solid minerals, tourism, road infrastructure and other critical sectors of the economy. The follow up launch of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) policies were to ensure that our quantitative advantage was turned to productive gains.
She said the NIPR focuses on economic and revenue diversification in industrial sectors where Nigeria has comparative advantage, adding that supporting structures such as infrastructure, skills, finance, investment climate, innovation, standards and local patronage are being initiated to ensure sustainability.
Aircraft engine manufacturer, CFM International and Nigeria’s biggest carrier, Arik Air have begun discussion to train Nigerians on aircraft engine maintenance and repairs.
This is an invaluable contribution of Arik Air to government’s local content development policy and as discussion progresses, it is expected that the airline would select intelligent, bright and young Nigerians who would be trained by CFM, manufacturers of Arik Air Boeing 737 New Generation (NG) engines.
The discussion took firm ground last week when CFM President, Jean-Paul Ebanga visited Arik headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to affirm the importance of the airline to the company and also show commitment to the planned partnership.
Ebanga, who toured Arik Air’s facilities at its headquarters said he was impressed by the progress the airline has recorded in just eight years of its commercial operations, adding that Arik would soon be one of the leading airlines in Africa.
“What the Chairman of Arik Air, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide is doing is to work, not to talk. He is bringing the needed change in air transport in Nigeria. In three to four years from now Africa will be the most populated continent with growing middle class. We have CFM engines in many aircraft operating in Africa. So, we grow with Africa’s economy as the middle class becomes empowered by the on-going economic growth. I think the population of CFM engines in Africa is the biggest one. I think we have about 900 engines flying all over Africa and the engines are behaving very well,” Ebanga said.
He observed that for African airlines to be competitive they have to operate new and modern equipment as Arik Air has done, engaging the services of skilled manpower and operate modern system that would dovetail with operators in other parts of the world.
“I think one of the challenges of Africa is that Africa is now part of the global economy and African airlines are competing with all the other airlines in the world. I think African airlines will have to keep up with the skills, organisational efficiency to be able to compare with the best airlines in the world.
This is what is already in progress. Arik is one of such airlines in Africa. They are using the top notch aircraft like other companies in the world. Of course, there are challenges, but the leaders of these airlines in Africa understand those challenges,” the CFM President said.
Arik Air Chairman, Arumemi-Ikhide explained that the airline and CFM International talked about partnership, the development of indigenous manpower and technical support of the company to the airline.
“We set up two working groups made up of people from their side and our side and we are looking at issues of Harmattan on our engines and you know we are going to build MRO. They are going to let us know what role they will play there. We are going to start a lot of work locally but they must have to be of international standard. Nigerians are well trained. We have skilled people all over the world. Like he said, it is one step after the other but government must support. Without government’s support, we cannot do anything,” he said.
Arik Air Chairman also said CFM engines are good because the people are very experienced and the engines are very efficient.
“They are very safe. We have not experienced any flame out or catastrophe. They are used all over the world and they are very efficient. In fact, we are satisfied with their engine performance in Nigeria. We use 26 of their engines on our 13 Boeing 737 airplanes and we also have spares. We have a long relationship with them. We found their engines very satisfactory and we have placed more orders with Boeing for the Boeing Max. So in a couple of years we are going to have about 30 aircraft and 60 engines,” Arumemi-Ikhide said.
Meanwhile, Arik Air is expanding its flight services in the West African sub region with the extension of its Abuja-Accra service to Dakar, Senegal effective March 24, 2015,
Arik Air stated this in a statement
According to the statement , the Lagos-Dakar service will be strengthened to six weekly flights with a new thrice weekly Lagos-Accra-Dakar service.
The Abuja-Accra-Dakar service which was first introduced in February 2014 was suspended in the wake of the Ebola disease outbreak in July 2014.
Though the Abuja-Accra service is a daily service, the extension to Dakar will operate thrice weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Lagos-Accra-Dakar service departs Lagos and arrives in Accra .
The flight continues on to Dakar, departing Accra to in Dakar .
The inbound flight departs Dakar to arrive in Accra before proceeding to Lags .
As a result of these developments, Arik Air will be creating a scissors hub in Accra where passengers from Lagos and Abuja can connect direct to Dakar, Senegal. Also, Arik Air will be only carrier offering non-stop service to Dakar from Accra.
“As the dominant commercial airline in West and Central Africa, Arik Air is always seeking to strengthen its services in the region to give guests comfort and value for money. We are ready to provide greater choice and a convenient, accessible network to our valued guests in the West Coast of Africa.”
Equipping young Nigerians with the skills they need for job opportunities in the food manufacturing sector can help businesses grow and address skills gap, the Director, Cassava Adding Value to Africa (CAVA), Prof Kola Adebayo, has said.
He said while food businesses can create jobs, there is a lack of special skills amid growing expansion in some areas in the industry and that could affect outfits considering expanding beyond their capacities.
To this end, he called on operators and the government to train Nigerians with requisite skills the industry needs as well as create a platform where food businesses can connect them with skilled workers they are looking for.
One way to achieve this, he suggested, is for the government and the private sector to provide grants to colleges and other institutions of higher education to deliver career training programmes that will help job seekers get the skills needed for in-demand jobs in the food industries.
In line with this, he called on the government to make food science a priority area for apprenticeship schemes, adding that such schemes would help the industry to address major areas of skills shortage.
In fashioning an apprenticeship scheme, he urged that it should reflect the breadth of industry interests, ensuring that beneficiaries are provided with practical and competitive skills that will satisfy prospective employers.
He explained that industry skills partnership places employers in the driving seat when it came to developing the workforce, stressing that food manufacturers need to be part of the solution to bridging the sector’s skills gap, if the industry is to entice youngsters into apprenticeships.
With the food industry facing the huge task of meeting food safety compliance, which comes with a colossal cost, Adebayo advised that firms encourage apprentices learn to observe safety rules.
Worried by the skills gap in banking, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instituted a competency framework for the sector. The Access Bank Academy has been accredited by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) to address the anomaly by training bankers to become better managers, writes COLLINS NWEZE.
As a service-driven industry, banking needs competent manpower to meet customers’ needs. Over the years, the perennial poor quality of service has exposed a lot of things about the industry- it suffers from dearth of skills. To reverse the trend, stakeholders and regulators have taken up the challenge to ensure that staff deliver the goods.
This prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee to appoint the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) to serve as the accreditation agency under the Competency Framework for the Banking Industry.
Last week, CIBN accredited the Access Bank Academy to train bank staff and prepare them to attain the Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB) status. To many stakeholders, this is as a positive step in addressing the skills gap in the industry.
• Mrs. Osibogun
CIBN President Otunba (Mrs.) ‘Debola Osibogun, who presented a certification certificate to the Access Bank Plc, said with the accreditation, Access Bank Academy has the stamp of authority to train its workforce and by extension, build capacity for the banking and finance industry in the country as required under the competency framework.
The CIBN boss said the academy has met the requirements as stipulated by the Institute’s Linkage Committee and the CBN in compliance with the competency framework instituted by the apex bank.
She added that the exercise remains the first set of accreditation certificate to be presented to a training service provider in the country.
Osibogun said the accreditation will open more routes for intending CIBN members to come on board and write the institute’s professional examinations.
It is also a platform for producing banking professionals that are highly knowledgeable and competent while benchmarking with international standards.
She added that the new graduates of the academy will also be expected to register as student members of CIBN and subsequently, commence the Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB) examinations.
She said the linkage programme will open more opportunity for bankers to get the ACIB recognition, and become better staff of their institutions.
Access Bank Managing Director Mr. Herbert Wigwe said the lender has excellent and longstanding relationship with CIBN, adding that the accreditation will deepen the relationship between both parties.
Wigwe, who was represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna, said the CBN competency framework has already spelt out what is needed to be taught at the academy adding that the bank is determined to invest in its people because as a service provider, its manpower remains its strength.
The bank chief said participants in the programme will get exemptions from CIBN and must therefore, take advantage of the opportunity provided by the academy to enhance their capacity and skills in the profession. He said the bank is excited at the opportunity provided by the academy and that the quality and integrity of exams conducted by the academy remain high.
Programme Director, Access Bank Academy, Nneka Udezue said the participants in the training will be given exemption for four subjects, all in finance.
She said the academy also allows students with Second Class Upper Degree, to go through test, interview, and later will be allowed to be trained in the academy for five months.
This, she said, would give them opportunity for employement in the bank. She added that the academy has made it easier for the bank to employ the right persons.
Chairman, CIBN Capacity Building and Certification Committee, Pius Olanrewaju, said he has signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rhema University on ACIB/Degree Linkage Programme, adding that the university shares some principles with the institute.
Olanrenwaju said the Access Bank Academy has quality scholars that would ensure that the people that pass through the academy get the best quality training. “When we visited the Access Bank Academy, we saw quality facilitators. We are satisfied with what we met on ground. We need new crop of bankers that will take the industry to a new height. We will keep training and encouraging staff of banks to get the right skills that will enable them achieve the best in this industry,” he said.
He said that it is not only junior staff that need quality training, the middle management and top management of banks also need to be effectively trained for them to grow the industry.
Past President, CIBN, Prof. Wole Adewunmi, was excited that Access Bank has taken steps to advance education in the banking sector. He also reiterated that just as the junior staff get training, it is also imperative that top management of banks is also trained.
“We are happy they are planning to advance education in the banking sector. As banks training their staff, there is need for top management to monitor to ensure that what is learnt trickle down to the branches. Banks should observe quality customer relationship management because we noticed that in most banks, the services at the branch level do not reflect the training acquired by staff,” he said.
The former CIBN boss said that customers remain king and must be treated as king. “Management should go to the branches to know what is going on and find way to ensure that the training goes down to the grassroots,” he added.
Adewunmi advised banks not to focus on deposit mobilisation and targets, which make staff to lose focus. He said that when quality services are offered, deposits will naturally flow into the coffers of the banks. He advised the mangers of the Access Bank Academy to ensure that the integrity and quality of their examinations remain high, as that will make stakeholders to take them more seriously.
Other steps by CIBN
Otunba Osibogun said that the competency framework of the CBN under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele is geared towards further improving banking practice and financial system stability.
She said the initiatives of the apex bank were comparable with what obtained in the developed economies adding that the Nigeria banking industry was better positioned to support business and the economy.
Otunba Osibogun observed that the new Code of Conduct in the Banking industry approved by the Bankers Committee was an important strategic initiative that would promote good banking practice and ethics while restoring public confidence in the system.
She expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation from the Bank Chief Executives as some of them have personally signed the Conduct Form and mandated their staff to do the same.
The CIBN boss stated that the objectives of the Code of Conduct include guiding every member of the Institute, both individual and corporate in meeting obligations to customers and other stakeholders by maintaining and improving standard of service, performance and quality of banking products; ensuring that all bank employees conduct their duties fairly and honestly; maintaining best banking practice and strong commitment to sound ethical and professional standards in the banking industry, among others.
She praised the CBN and the Bankers Committee for giving the institute the opportunity to partner with them on the implementation of the Banking Industry Competency Framework, assuring Emefiele of the institute’s continued support to the bank and the industry.
CBN’s position
The CBN regretted that the skill gap in the industry manifested in, among others, the lack of in-depth knowledge of core banking functions and poor understanding of basic banking operations; poor understanding of banking regulations; unethical conduct and unprofessional practices; and knowledge gaps in financial markets and treasury management.
It said that reasons advanced for these inadequacies include the lack of a coordinated industry-recognised training accreditation and certification system as well as competency standards for practitioners in the industry.
“The development of staff competencies became imperative in addressing the inadequacies, thus, underscoring the need to review the training of new generation of banking professionals to develop and deliver satisfactory banking products and services to the consumers,” it said.
The framework, it explained, seeks to ensure that workers possess the qualifications, skills and experience relevant to the jobs that they are engaged to perform. It prescribes minimum requirements officers engaged in control function should possess. The primary goal of the framework is to provide reasonable assurance that a job holder is fit, proper and carries on satisfactorily the responsibilities of the office he occupies.
The CBN explained that in drawing the framework, considerations were given to the various kinds of jobs performed in the industry as well as the bodies of knowledge, skills, and experience needed to perform the jobs.
“The identification of gaps (where they exist) and how such gaps may be closed – possibly through education, training or acquisition of experience were also covered,” it said.
“Based on the multiplicity of sources from which education and training may be acquired with the attendant quality differentials, there was need for accreditation of all the service providers to ensure that they meet minimum requirements and standards on a continuing basis,” it added.
However, the success of the framework implementation, it said, depends on the effectiveness of the accreditation function, prompting the appointment of CIBN to perform the role.
“The framework identifies some roles that are of operational and/or regulatory significance and designates such roles as control functions,” it said.
The CBN said it will continue to provide overarching supervision in the implementation of the competency framework in the Nigerian banking industry. In this regard, the implementation of the framework will form part of the routine examination of banks in the country going forward.
I have learnt a lot on how to handle customers and exposed to with varying soft skills that are needed for job placement and self employment.”
These were the words of one of the graduates of the second batch of a youth empowerment scheme, Mrs. Justina Hegeth.
The workshop was organised by the Nigeria Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (NOIC) in collaboration with Opportunities Industralisation Centre International and Walmart Foundation, United State of America.
The workshop tagged: ‘Empowering Africans for Retail Needs’ featured courses on retail operations, customers series, safety in retail operation, store operations, inventory and merchandising, food and beverage retail, held simultaneously in Lagos and Kano. Justifying the need for the capacity building workshop, Chairman, NOIC, Arch Bishop Magnus Atilade said the training was aimed at given young people the tools needed to create new jobs and compete favourably in the world of work.
Atilade opined that the new threat of terrorism, armed struggle, extremist activities are deeply rooted in economic inequalities among many African states and the youth are mostly affected.
The clergy, who shared his experience in bringing Walmart to Nigeria, said the training programme intends to equip youths with necessary skills for immediate employment in the retail industry.
“Every youth needs basic education and industry related skills and knowledge for employment which should be the priority of everyone,” he stressed.
Echoing similar sentiments, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Religious Affairs, Rev Akitoye Braimoh appealed to the graduates to make the best use of the opportunities given to them and make themselves useful to Nigeria.
She said that the challenges of the time should not be an excuse for anyone not to reach the top of their chosen career as there are vast opportunities that can be explored for greater productivity and profitability.
Before she enrolled into the Youth Empowerment and Skills Acquisition Programme (YESAP) sponsored by the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) 20-year-old Marry Adams had lost the hope of furthering her education. Why? Her parents could not afford it. Mother Luck smiled on her. She was selected for a six-month skill acquisition programme run by YESAP in Kaduna. She was among the 150 unemployed youths who graduated from the exercise.
Mary told The Nation that while on the training, she was getting contracts, even employing two of her neighbours as casual staff. She was among the 20 who participated in the Catering and Event Management. Beaming with smiles, she said that with the training, her hope of going to the university has come alive again.
She said: “I am a secondary school leaver and I must say that, even though, we are just graduating today, I have benefited a lot from this YESAP programme. Initially, I lost the hope of going to the university because my parents are not financially buoyant; today, my hope has been renewed. While, we were still undergoing training, I had already started making cakes for my friends and family members at cheaper rates. When somebody has a birthday celebration, I use my already acquired knowledge to organise the event, plan for them and do little decoration. Before I knew it, other people started consulting me in my neighborhood for occasions.
“So, as it is presently, I have two of my friends from the neighbourhood who beg to follow me whenever I have one event to manage or the other. In fact, they go telling people that, Mary is good in decoration and all that, because for each contract I get, they help me and they get their own percentage.”
She commended the management of KRPC for the programme and urged the company to involve more youths, particularly young widows and orphans, adding that her first target after settling down is to sponsor herself to the university, since she now has a means of making money.
Another beneficiary of the training, Manassehý Markus, who trained in auto-mechatronics, said he was lucky to be trained to detect faults in vehicles using a gas box.
“I am happy that I have this knowledge today, and there is an already-made market,” he said. “The course has to do with using gas box to diagnose fault in cars, to know what is wrong with the car before taking it to the appropriate expert like rewire. This has become a lucrative business in Nigeria today, because all the cars sold in the market today are computerised”.
Markus, who holds a National Diploma in Computer Science said, he intends to transform the knowledge he has gotten into economic fortune and improve on his life and that of his family. He also expressed appreciation to the management of KRPC, saying; “My message to KRPC is to appreciate them for this opportunity given to us, the youth. It is one way to take the youth off the street and drug. This is because when you have something doing that is putting food on your table, you will not bother to look for government’s jobs or mingling with bad friends. So, I want to encourage them to do more in this direction to reduce unemployment.ý”
On her part, Ruth Amana said: “I have been under intensive training by consultants hired by KRPC and it has been worthwhile experience for me. I’m going to use what I have been taught to establish myself. I will start my own catering outfit. I want to thank the KRPC management so much. They have really turned my life and situation around because this is an opportunity that is very hard for many to get. I was chosen out of many people who were equally qualified. All I want to say is thank you KRPC,” she simply said.
Addressing beneficiaries of the training at a elaborate ceremony at Umaru Musa Yar’adua Hall of Murtala Muhammed Square, Kaduna, the KRPC Managing Director, Engr Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, said the YESAP VI, was part of the company’s social responsibility to its immediate host communities. He disclosed that the company had in six years trained 675 unemployed youths and equipped them to manage their lives and support their family members. Mohammed said it has been the goal of the YESAP programme launched by KRPC in 2008, adding that, “the company has been working with reputable consultants to ensure that young people in Kaduna State and through Northern Nigeria have the skills and economic opportunity to build productive lives and contribute to nation building. Similarly, arrangements are being concluded for KRPC to partner with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to assist graduands in business set up, monitoring and performance tracking and to assist those that are progressing in their respective trades to access credit facilities and other form of assistance”.
He however called on the communities to help protect the NNPC property in their locality in order to both enjoy the good relationship that exist between them. The 15 vocational courses include auto-welding and fabrication, Plaster of Paris, carpentry and woodwork, auto-mechatronic, auto-mechanic, auto-spray painting, fashion and textile design, screen printing, poultry and fishing among others.
The Nation also gathered that, all the 150 beneficiaries were given starter packs and cash of N100,000 as capital to start the business. However, joy were written all over the faces of the graduates, ýas special guests and parents present at the occasion commended the presentations made by the youths during the exhibition of their work and products.
