The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) says it plans to produce two million skilled artisans annually through its new Skills-Upgrading and Professional Advancement (SUPA) programme strategy.
The Director-General of ITF, Dr Afiz Ogun, disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja, following the completion of the latest assessment of training centres collaborating with the Fund.
Ogun said that the Fund had abolished the practice of distributing starter-packs to graduands, and would now focus on providing local and international certifications to enhance their employment prospects.
“We are no longer handing out starter-packs. Instead, we are aligning our artisans with international standards through certifications, giving them access to both local and global opportunities,” he said.
He said that as part of SUPA Phase II, ITF intended to increase the number of accredited private training centres from 880 to 1,500 to support the training of 100,000 artisans in this phase.
According to him, the target is to have a minimum of two training centres in each local government area, considering the wide spread of over 700,000 registered artisans on the SUPA platform.
The D-G said that over 3,000 instructors had undergone train-the-trainer programmes to enhance the quality of training delivery.
He also noted that a comprehensive accreditation process was ongoing to assess the corporate structure, infrastructure, equipment, and instructor competence of interested training centres.
“Successful centres will be categorised into A, B, and C levels and published accordingly. Artisan deployment to these centres will be based on proximity and ease of access,” Ogun explained.
He said the deployment exercise would be concluded before April 30.
On the broader objective, Ogun said that to meet the goal of training two million artisans annually, ITF would require collaboration with at least 10,000 well-established private training centres.
“The SUPA programme is a critical component of Nigeria’s skill-ecosystem.
” It is our strategy to address quackery, unemployment, and youth restiveness, while also supplying industries with competent manpower,” he said.
He added that the training would include soft skills such as project management, ethics, patriotism, and industrial safety, with collaboration from the Chartered Institute of Project Management of Nigeria (CIPMN).
He explained that successful artisans would move from Phase II to Phase III, which focused on technical training and entrepreneurship, delivered through 70 per cent practical and 30 per cent theory.
Ogun appreciated President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Industry, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and other stakeholders for their support.
He assured that Nigerians would soon feel the impact of ITF’s renewed drive through better-skilled and globally certified artisans.