From Jude Dangwam, Jos

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi has tasked the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to do more in training of Nigerians, particularly youths in other to address the unemployment problem facing the country.

He said the Federal Government was expecting more from agencies like the Industrial Training Fund ITF and other sister agencies to grow the nation’s economy and resolve other challenges confronting the country.

Adeniyi represented by the Director of Policy and Research Development Alhaji Nagogo Muhammed stated this during the end of the year performance review for 2021 by the ITF with the theme: ” Actualizing the ITF mandate in a VUCA world” held at the Centre of Excellence Bukuru in Jos the Plateau State capital.

He said of great concern to the Federal Government was the need to urgently address the rising tide of unemployment and poverty in the country pointing that it is in this regard that the Federal Government recently unveiled several initiatives including the “National Development Plan (NDP), 2021-2025.”

He noted that for the programme to be fully achieved, organisations like the ITF has a vital role to play, especially in the area of human capacity development for Nigerians. 

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Joseph Ari disclosed that over N1.195billion was paid last year as students industrial works experience  scheme as SIWES students  supervisory allowances.

He stressed that the break down of the figure shows that “over N961 million was paid to 64, 124 university students while over N162 million  was paid to 16,292 Polytechnic students and the sum of over N71million paid to 7,121 students of colleges of education” in the country.

He assured of the agency’s continuous commitment to  payment of students and supervisors’ allowances as soon as money was recieved from the Federal Government.

Ari commended the National Assembly for the bold step taken to commence legislative processes for the inclusion of Technical and Vocational Education Training TVET in Nigeria School curricular. “This step is in the right direction  as it will expose Nigerians to hands-on skills at an early age and thereby eliminate existing prejudices against TVET and the perception of technical skills as a preserve for some classes of our society.”

Ari hinted that the review meeting is an opportunity for them to reflect on their performances in 2021 to come up with firm strategies to build on last year’s, achievements and draw up programmes of action for 2022 bearing in mind the challenges of COVID-19.

The DG is of the fact that factors prevailing government policies/programmes consist, “the political environment and the VUCA world that is replete with a rapid rate of change and the multiplicity of decision factors to which there are no definite answers.”

In the words of the ITF Boss, “We shall continue to search for new ways of doing things that will engender  growth and greater results, that is the true meaning of ideation and innovation.”