The Industrial Training Fund has commenced the nationwide administration of international certification examinations for more than 7,000 artisans enrolled in the Skill-Up Artisans programme.
The exercise, which began on Monday, is being conducted at 28 examination centres spread across 27 states, marking a significant expansion of the programme from its pilot phase in Abuja, where about 200 candidates participated.
The Director-General of the ITF, Dr Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, disclosed this while speaking at the Fund’s Centre of Excellence in Jos, Plateau State.
Ogun said the programme, implemented under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, was designed to upgrade the competence of Nigerian artisans and bring their skills in line with international standards.
He explained that participants were taking examinations for various international certifications, including QA Technique assessments, while examinations for City & Guilds, ProQual and GQA certifications from the United Kingdom would follow.
“Candidates will also receive the National Skills Qualifications Framework certification to ensure domestic compliance,” the ITF boss said.
The Fund said it had committed more than N700m to the current phase of the certification exercise, stressing that the investment was aimed at equipping Nigerian artisans with qualifications that would improve their competitiveness locally and internationally.
Ogun explained that the candidates undergoing the examination constituted the first batch of beneficiaries, assuring applicants who were not selected that additional batches would be enrolled in subsequent phases.
He said participation was restricted to practising artisans because the SUPA initiative was created to improve the skills of people already engaged in various trades rather than serve as an entry-level training programme.
The ITF consequently subjected applicants to screening to exclude students, non-practising artisans and individuals seeking stipends without evidence of active participation in a trade.
The Fund advised beginners and aspiring artisans to take advantage of other vocational and youth empowerment programmes provided by the ITF and relevant Federal Government agencies.
The ITF leadership said raising the standard of Nigerian artisans would help reduce the dependence on foreign craftsmen, particularly those from other West African countries, while also limiting the outflow of funds from the Nigerian economy.
0 Comments