By; ISAAC ODEH, Kaduna
Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has equipped two thousand youth with skills in eleven areas, including cyber security, electrical and solar installations.
Others are tailoring, carpentry, web design, leather work, welding and fabrication design and photography.
The Area Manager of Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Kaduna Area Office, Engineer Garba Hassan stated this at the closing ceremony of T-Max programme held in Kaduna.
Hassan announced that the Federal Government has approved the implementation of project T- Max, a Technical and Vocational Education and Training Programme to train fifteen thousand Nigerians in some states in the country.
He said the programme T-Max commenced in 2022 and trained several Nigerian youth in different trades areas and it lasted for only six months.
“Our commitment to skills acquisition remains the only solution to rising unemployment and poverty that have continued to defy the best efforts of governmental and non-governmental approaches. There are countless reasons for us to worry as government vested with the arduous task of equipping Nigerians with the skills for employability and entrepreneurship”. He said.
He appealed to other state governments, the organized private sector, non governmental organizations and politicians to collaborate with the ITF in the area of training for various skills programmes or buying start up packs for beneficiaries of the programme.
He commended Kaduna State Government under Senator Uba Sani for contributing immensely to the training programme and his readiness to partner with ITF.
In his address, the Director General of ITF, Dr. Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun explained that the training was done in seven states, including Lagos, Enugu, Gombe, Edo, Nasarawa, Ogun and Kaduna.
Represented by the Deputy Director Training, Research and Development Department, Jos, Mrs Mercy Oguntimeyi, the DG lamented how youth roam the streets without any form of gainful employment, giving rise to crime and other social vices that bedevil the nation.
He urged the graduands to use the opportunity to make decent living and be good ambassadors of the ITF and also warned them not to sell their start-up packs because it’s their tickets to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economy.
In her goodwill message, the Commissioner for Ministry for Business Innovation and Technology, Mrs. Patience Fakai said the state government has realized the pivotal role Human Capital Development plays in the socio-economic development of any society, leading to sustainable economic growth, increasing productivity, wealth
creation and poverty reduction.
The Commissioner who was represented by Director, Innovation and Skills Development, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Technology, Kaduna State, Engr Noel Bali, also said that the state government is committed to
working with critical stakeholders, like ITF, NBTE and training providers in the promotion of skills development in the
state.
All the 2,000 graduands received their start-up packs during the occasion.
