Unemployment: ITF Calls For Collaboration Of State Govts, Other Stakeholders

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Friday, July 19th, 2019

Muyiwa Bamidele, Abuja

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – As part of measures to create employment opportunities, the Director General and Chief Executive of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Sir Joseph Ari has appealed to Nigerians to support government’s efforts to create jobs and reduce poverty through skills acquisition.

The ITF boss made that appeal at the public presentation of 2019 Skills Intervention Programmes in Abuja saying that the Federal Government alone cannot meet up job demands of Nigerians.

Sir Joseph Ari explained that the cooperation and collaboration of all State Governments, the Organised Private Sector (OPS), politicians and other stakeholders will be critical for a multiplier effect.

“At this juncture, I wish to appeal to Nigerians to support Government’s efforts to create jobs and reduce poverty through skills acquisition rather than view it as the responsibility of the ITF and other Agencies of the Federal Government alone”.

“Our doors are therefore wide open for collaboration in any aspect of human capacity development and vocational and technical skills training”.

Speaking on the 2019 Skills Intervention Programmes, he disclosed that about 18,000 Nigerians will be train between 3 to 6 months period.

The number of beneficiaries for each of the programme is as follows:

National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) -11,000

Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP) -360

Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration (Training on Wheels) -90.

Design and Garment Making (Training on Wheels) -90.

Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the Physically Challenged (STEPP-C) -120.

Construction Skills Empowerment Programme (CONSEP) -180.

Aqua-Culture (Fish Farming) -150.

Manure Production -150.

Crop Production (Green House Technology) -150.

Poultry Farming -150.

According to him, between late 2016 and 2018, ITF has trained over 450,000 Nigerians, 90 percent of whom are NOW in productive endeavours either as paid employees or as entrepreneurs that are even employing others.