The Director-General of the Industrial Trust Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari, said the agency has trained over 56,597 persons, equipping them with skills to secure high-paying jobs.
This achievement was carried out under the ITF-NECA project which is a collaborative effort of the ITF and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association.
Speaking at the ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) Stakeholders’ Dialogue Forum in Abuja, the Director-General revealed that this project was a response to a joint survey carried out by ITF and NECA.
The survey revealed that different sectors of the economy were suffering from skills mismatches and, shortages among many other things.
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Ari said, “The project was therefore conceived with the primary objective of promoting the availability of manpower with appropriate Technical and Vocational Skills to meet identified needs of industries and the country.”
Also present at the Forum, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade, and Investments, Mariam Katagum also encouraged other companies to learn from ITF and invest in skills intervention programs.
“The need for greater collaboration and synergy amongst various organizations in both the public and private sectors cannot be overemphasised. I, therefore urge other agencies of Government to borrow a leaf from the example set by the ITF to enter into Public Private Partnership (PPP), to ensure the achievement of their mandates. I believe that with PPP, we can create decent jobs in sufficient quantities, to resolve the protracted problems of unemployment and reduce poverty, while also providing a foundation for more robust and inclusive economic growth,” she said.
