By Idris Khalid
The director-general of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Mr. Joseph N. Ari said that the agency has trained millions of Nigerians employees and unemployed in its efforts to tackling the rising unemployment challenges in the country for the past 50 years.
Ari was speaking in Bauchi during the 2021 ITF Bauchi area office interactive forum with stakeholders with the theme, “Employable Skills Escalation: The Role of ITF and Its Stakeholders”.
The director-general explained that ITF has skills training centres across the six geo-political zones of the country that contributed significantly to technical, vocational skills development and skills upgrading.
Mr. Joseph Ari, who was represented by the Bauchi State Area Manager, Ahmed Jibrin Loko, said ITF understands the challenges of modern technological advancements and continually working tirelessly to ensure its training services delivery competes favourably with international standards.
According to him, the fund has this year trained over 205 people in Bauchi state on human capital development, national skills development program (NISDP)and agripreneurship skills empowerment program(AgSEP) to boost employment opportunities amongst youths.
“The ITF has trained staff of many organizations and other citizens of Bauchi state in both human resource development and other skills training intervention programmes”.
Ari cited example with the National Industrial skills development programme (NISDP) currently taking place with one hundred trainees being trained on Catering and Event Management, Plumbing and Pipe-Fitting programmes.
In addition, he revealed, the Agripreneurship Skills Empowerment Programme (AgSEP) are being run concurrently with 105 trainees in Crop production, Fish Farming and Poultry production.
Ari said that NISDP is one of the numerous skills acquisition intervention program introduced and implemented by the Industrial Training Fund to facilitate the achievement of the Federal Government policy on job and wealth creation.
He further explained that the training focuses on skills acquisition to create job, curb the rampant unemployment and breed a new generation of entrepreneurs in order to transform the economic landscape of the country.
“ITF is in tune with the goal of the present administration led by Muhammadu Buhari to tackle unemployment with technical and vocational skills thereby making employment to utilize available opportunities”.
In his presentation, the head of Bauchi ITF training, Mr. Abdurrahman Attah said that the fund delivers its training both long and short term across the country.
Attah disclosed that ITF has industrial training centres in Lagos, Kano, Plateau, Kogi and Abuja for vocational skills and technical development.
He recalled that ITF was established in 1971 to provide, promote and encourage the acquisition of skills in industry and commerce.
