The Industrial Training Fund, ITF, has surpassed its target in the implementation of its special skills intervention programme, as over 50,000 Nigerians have been trained across the country to combat poverty.
Stating that the Fund also recorded huge success in its efforts to institutionalise the national apprenticeship and traineeship system that led to the launching of the NATS framework two weeks ago, Director General of the ITF, Sir Joseph Ari, declared that the Fund is already set to achieve more in the current fiscal year.
Ari disclosed this during the 2022 end-of-the-year performance review meeting tagged, “National Apprenticeship and Traineeship System (NATS): A pathway to job and wealth creation”, held at the ITF headquarters in Jos.
The DG noted that “in the area of revenue generation, we equally surpassed our targets in the areas of company registration, training contribution, course fees, and other incomes. What I consider as our most telling achievement of the year 2022, are the successes we recorded in our efforts to institutionalise the National Apprenticeship and Traineeship System, leading to the launch of the NATS framework two weeks ago.”
He explained that the Fund made considerable efforts towards ensuring that the national apprenticeship and traineeship system take hold in Nigeria so that the history of apprenticeship in Nigeria will not be told without recognising the pioneering role of the ITF through its SIWES programme.
According to Ari, “It is also on record that aside from the SIWES, the Fund mounted several other apprenticeship programmes in various sectors of the national economy, most notable of which was the In-Plant Training Programme, during which the Fund undertook industry-related studies in collaboration with the clients to identify and rectify productivity-related challenges.”
The DG explained further that “with soaring unemployment and poverty, which according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are over 33 percent and 63 percent respectively, the Fund refocused its policy direction on NATs in order to escalate skills acquisition for prosperity, job, and wealth creation.
“To actualise this”, he narrated, “the Fund collaborated with the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, the umbrella body for the Organised Private Sector and Skills for Prosperity (UK), which gave rise to the first National Skills Summit during which the NATS was first conceived as part of the resolutions of the Summit.”
“We believe that if faithfully implemented, NATS has the potential to drastically reduce unemployment, afford the youths the opportunity to earn income while learning, and enhance eligibility for finance and other forms of assistance while on training”, he said of the skills programme.
The DG is also of the opinion that a “functional National Apprenticeship and Traineeship System will ensure a structured approach to skills acquisition and certification, leading to an increase in the number of MSMEs and expansion of the existing ones.”
Ari added that the Management of the Fund is committed to ensuring that the ITF remains a leader in the Human Resource Development sector, and assured that it will continue to provide credible and enduring leadership that will inspire staff for the continued growth of the Fund.
The Acting Head of the Corporate Planning Commission (CPC), Mrs Olufunke Olorunleke, commended the Director General for providing quality leadership towards developing the nation’s human resources.
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