A former World Bank Senior Education Specialist, Dr Tunde Adekola, has described the Industrial Training Fund’s Skill Up Artisans Programme as a strategic intervention capable of advancing the Federal Government’s efforts to create jobs, empower young Nigerians and reduce poverty.
Adekola spoke in Abuja during a joint inspection of facilities at the ITF Model Skills Centre with the Fund’s Director-General, Dr Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun.
He expressed satisfaction with the practical projects being undertaken by participants of the ongoing eight-week Train-the-Trainers Capacity Workshop at the centre, stressing that vocational education remained crucial to tackling unemployment.
The former World Bank specialist urged Nigerian artisans to embrace the SUPA initiative and use the opportunity to improve their technical competence in line with international standards.
He said acquiring globally recognised skills would not only improve the earning capacity of artisans but also position them to take advantage of opportunities in the international market.
Adekola also commended Ogun for his leadership in implementing the programme, calling for greater support from relevant stakeholders to ensure that its objectives were achieved.
Speaking on the training, the ITF Director-General said participants in the eight-week workshop were being equipped with advanced skills in five trades—floor tiling, bricklaying, carpentry, painting and decorating, and dry lining.
Ogun disclosed that the Fund had engaged experts from England and the United Kingdom to train the participants, adding that successful trainees would receive Brutus Certification upon completion of the programme.
He said the ITF was also working with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association to facilitate employment opportunities for beneficiaries.
According to him, the Fund is equally partnering with the Bank of Industry to address one of the major challenges confronting artisans—the difficulty in accessing finance to expand their businesses.
Sharing their experiences, a participant, Temitope Ojo, who specialises in carpentry, said the training had exposed him to international standards in chair and bench production as well as workplace safety practices.
Another trainee, Mary Ann, said the painting course had introduced her to techniques that were significantly different from those she had previously used in her work.
Similarly, a floor-tiling trainee, Abubakar Badrin, said the programme had improved his technical ability while teaching him measures to protect himself and clients from workplace hazards.
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