The Industrial Training Fund (ITF), the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and the Federal Government have called for stronger support for technical and vocational skills development, with emphasis on helping trained youths secure jobs and establish sustainable businesses.
They made the call at a stakeholders’ dialogue forum and award ceremony organised under the ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP), where they highlighted the need to bridge the skills gap, strengthen industry participation and provide young Nigerians with opportunities to translate acquired competencies into productive economic activities.
The Chairman of the ITF Governing Board, Hamma-Adama Ali Kumo, represented by Mrs Mercy Oyewole, said Nigeria’s industrial development depended on the availability of skilled workers capable of meeting the technical demands of modern production.
He said the partnership between the ITF and NECA demonstrated the importance of collaboration between government and the private sector in preparing young Nigerians for employment and entrepreneurship.
According to him, while government has a responsibility to promote development, employers bring practical knowledge of production, technology and workplace requirements that can make technical training more relevant.
Kumo said the effectiveness of skills development programmes should not be measured solely by the number of people trained but also by the extent to which graduates secured relevant employment, established viable businesses and improved their livelihoods.
He urged stakeholders to strengthen the connection between training and employment by expanding apprenticeship opportunities, workplace placements, mentorship and enterprise support.
The ITF board chairman also called for greater investment in trainers, updated training content and equipment that reflect changes in industrial processes and workplace demands.
He further urged stakeholders to widen access to technical education, particularly for women, persons with disabilities and young people facing economic barriers, while maintaining training standards.
Kumo appealed to employers to open their facilities to structured learning, provide experienced mentors and give graduates opportunities to demonstrate their competencies.
He also called for greater recognition of technical occupations, noting that technicians, welders, machinists, furniture makers and maintenance professionals played essential roles in national development.
In his remarks, NECA Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said the ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project had recorded significant progress since its establishment in 2009, following a survey that identified a mismatch between available labour market skills and the technical competencies required by industries.
He said the survey, conducted jointly by NECA and ITF in 2008, identified shortages in mechanical maintenance, welding, electrical and electronic maintenance, automation, instrumentation and other industrial trades.
According to Oyerinde, the findings informed the establishment of the project on March 31, 2009, as a public-private partnership designed to equip young Nigerians with practical, industry-relevant skills.
He said the initiative had trained thousands of young Nigerians across more than 35 technical and vocational trades and expanded its reach across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Oyerinde disclosed that project records indicated that approximately 90 per cent of its graduates had secured employment or established their own businesses.
He added that 84 organisations from the public and private sectors had participated in the initiative over the years.
While acknowledging the project’s achievements, the NECA director-general said the changing nature of work, driven by artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, digital manufacturing and emerging technologies, required continuous improvement in technical training.
He said the next phase of the programme should focus on stronger industry participation, higher competency standards and better employment and enterprise outcomes.
Oyerinde specifically appealed to the Bank of Industry (BOI) to support credible skills development initiatives by providing starter packs and other forms of assistance to deserving graduates seeking to establish businesses.
He argued that training alone would not address unemployment if graduates lacked the equipment and resources required to put their skills to productive use.
According to him, supporting a skilled graduate to establish a business could create opportunities for additional workers and contribute to reducing unemployment.
He also cited a separate digital skills initiative undertaken by NECA in collaboration with the International Organisation of Employers and Microsoft, through which more than 101,000 young Nigerians reportedly registered for artificial intelligence training, while over 87,000 obtained certification.
Oyerinde urged government, development partners and private sector organisations to extend support to credible technical skills programmes, stressing that sustainable industrialisation depended on the knowledge, competence and productivity of the workforce.
He further called for stronger collaboration between the ITF-NECA project and the ITF’s Skill-Up Artisans (SUPA) initiative to expand technical competence and improve the availability of skilled manpower.
Also speaking, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Dingyadi, represented at the event by the Director, Skills Development in the Ministry Mr Ojelade Gabriel, said technical and vocational skills development remained central to the Federal Government’s efforts to promote decent employment, enhance productivity and reduce unemployment, particularly among young people.
Dingyadi said the ITF-NECA partnership represented a commendable model of public-private collaboration in addressing the workforce requirements of the economy.
He noted that changing workplace demands made it necessary for technical and vocational training programmes to remain responsive to the actual needs of employers and modern industries.
The minister called on stakeholders to deepen collaboration, increase industry participation in vocational training and apprenticeship development, and ensure that training programmes aligned with labour market requirements.
He congratulated the trainees recognised at the ceremony, urging them to uphold excellence, discipline and professional values as they pursued their careers.
Dingyadi reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to supporting initiatives that promote employment, productive engagement and inclusive economic growth.
ENDS
