The Industrial Training Fund has completed the installation of modern vocational training equipment at its Model Skills Academy along the Jos-Bukuru Expressway in Plateau State, in a move aimed at strengthening skills acquisition among Nigerian youths.
The project, delivered through a public-private partnership with Valentino Resources Limited, is part of the Federal Government’s Skill-Up Artisans initiative, designed to improve the competence of Nigerian artisans and position them for global competitiveness.
Speaking during an inspection of the facility, the Chief Executive Officer of Valentino Resources Limited, Tadas Okonkwo, said the company delivered the project as a fully funded turnkey investment.
Okonkwo said the project was structured under the leadership of the ITF Director-General, Dr Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, to support President Bola Tinubu’s youth empowerment and vocational development agenda.
The upgraded academy has facilities for several trades, including culinary arts, industrial garment production, automated monogramming and commercial textile knitting.
The culinary section is fitted with mobile stainless-steel workstations, e-learning touchscreens, smoke extraction systems, tabletop gas cookers, commercial ovens, specialised sinks and LED lighting to provide trainees with a modern learning environment.
The textile section, meanwhile, has been equipped with multi-head automated monogramming machines and industrial knitting equipment, while three additional high-capacity knitting machines are awaiting final installation.
The installation was completed within 13 months through intensive technical work, with the facilities designed to meet the ITF’s timetable for training and enrolment of beneficiaries under the SUPA programme.
Ogun said the training programme would combine practical vocational instruction with courses in business management, marketing and quality control to address some of the challenges affecting artisans, particularly poor finishing and weak business practices.
He added that training had already commenced for youths enrolled at the academy, with the programme providing structured practical courses during academic breaks while equipping beneficiaries with skills capable of improving their livelihoods and reducing youth restiveness.
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