By; FUNMI ADERINTO, Kaduna
The Acting Governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe on Tuesday, said that Kaduna State and six others have been selected to pilot a programme that targets 15,000 beneficiaries, hence 2,000 citizens from the state will be equipped with technical and vocational skills through the FG Project T-MAX.
She said the programme will run seamlessly and have a hitch-free implementation across the nation and in particular, Kaduna State will work with Project T-Max and ITF for its success.
Kaduna State acting governor, represented by the Commissioner of Business Innovation and Technology, Professor Kabir Mato, received the Project T-MAX Technical Team who came on courtesy visit to Government House in Kaduna.
She said Kaduna State welcomes the programme with high expectations, as it aligns with the state government’s human capital development initiative, especially in skills and talent development.
According to her, “the state is pleased to welcome this timely intervention approved by the National Steering Committee on National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), aimed at achieving the Federal Government’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by the year 2030.
“This is indeed a laudable and timely intervention, especially to Kaduna State, which is among the states in the pilot phase of the project that will run from August to December 2022”.
The acting governor noted that the state has done appreciably well in its human capital development policy.
“Therefore, this programme will help in consolidating our achievements in the skills and talent development component,” she added.
She disclosed that, Kaduna State Government has initiated series of programmes to provide economic empowerment for youth and women, promote private investments, and give the state the needed infrastructure that sustains vibrant socio-economic activities.
“Our administration is aware of the pivotal role human capital development plays in the socio-economic development of any society and in propelling sustainable economic growth, increasing productivity, engendering wealth creation, and poverty reduction.
“The state has set up mechanisms to promote human capital development and as the first step, the State Executive Council devolved responsibilities to five policy councils.
“The Human Capital Development Council (HCDC) is one of them, and I had the privilege of becoming the pioneer chairperson.
“One of the five thematic areas under the Human Capital Development Council is the skills and talent development strategic area, that seeks to build a technically competent and vocationally skilled population, contributing efficiently and optimally to employment and productivity of the state.
“In the state’s effort to equip our youth with the 21st century skills and talents and thus, make them employable. We embarked on conducted a Skills Gap Assessment of practitioners in five priority areas and needs assessment of existing training centres in the state.
“Consequently, in collaboration with Industrial Training Fund (ITF), we developed a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) strategy that proposed the establishment of three TVET centres (one in each Senatorial District).
“Also in line with President’s directive to institutionalize full TVET system with boarding facilities in the state and currently finalizing on the development of the first ever Skills and Talent Development Policy in the state.”
She said, it is to enhance quality, access and relevance of skills development and reduces stigmatization of the sector, enhance enrolment and thereby, reducing youth unemployment and restiveness.
“We shall remain committed to ensuring that enabling environment is created for the smooth implementation of the programme in the state.
The state believes in partnership and collaborations in realising our governance agenda.
“We believe that we can do much more together with partners like the Project T – MAX technical team in driving this and other interventions in the skills development process, leveraging on each other’s experiences for the benefit of all.
“Already, the state government has collaborated with development partners like DFID (Mafita project) to develop robust skills development and training programmes at both formal and informal levels.
“The state has six well-equipped Community Skills’ Development Centres (COSDECs), and eighteen (18) BATCs (spread across the 23 LGAs of the state) which can be used for this initiative,” she informed.
The acting governor appealed to the team to consider the inclusion of other trade areas in the future, such as agriculture and value chain, robotics, briquetting from waste and air-conditioning in automobile.
She also commended them for initiating this timely intervention and called on stakeholders of the programme to take the advantages it offers.
In a remark, the leader of the delegation, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Educational Intervention, Fela Bank-Olemoh said it will help in the skills and talent development component.
Bank-Olemoh explained that, Project T-MAX is a TVET programme, which has been approved by the National Steering Committee on National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy to achieve the federal government’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty as one of the core interventions by 2030.
He said, it is to deploy a transparent, functional skills they need to be self-employed states with technical and vocational and sustainable TVET framework that will equip 15,000 people.
He further explained that, the pilot phase of the project will run from August till December 2022 across 7-states, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Enugu, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Gombe.
He said more than 16 skills would be deployed across the states.
“However, these skills are subject to modification or key stakeholders in the state,” he added.
Fela Bank-Olemoh noted that to achieve the federal government’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030, “we believe that strong partnerships with the state governments is critical.
“Through this partnership, we will be able to successfully empower over 15,000 Nigerians with skills and also serve as a model for the expansion of Technical and Vocational skills acquisition across the country.”
