The Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund, Afiz Ogun, has said the Federal Government is determined to equip Nigerian artisans with skills that will enable them to meet international standards and compete favourably with their counterparts across the world.
Ogun disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while addressing artisans from different parts of the country at an engagement organised under the Nigeria Artisans for the Renewed Hope Initiative.
He said the agency would further strengthen the screening and training components of the federal government’s Skill Up Artisans programme to ensure that beneficiaries possessed the required competence in their respective trades.
According to Ogun, the SUPA programme had exposed several applicants who presented themselves as skilled artisans but could not demonstrate basic knowledge of the trades they claimed to practise.
He cited instances of supposed welders who could not identify an electrode, mechanics who were unfamiliar with carburettors or injectors and tailors who lacked knowledge of fundamental clothing techniques.
The ITF boss said the development had prompted the agency to tighten its screening procedures, adding that its area offices had been instructed to collaborate with artisans’ associations recognised by state governors in identifying genuine practitioners.
Ogun said the 2025 edition of the programme recorded improvements over the 2024 exercise, expressing optimism that the 2026 edition would achieve even better results.
He also encouraged artisans to utilise the Skills House in Abuja, which he described as “the home of skills,” urging them to see the facility as a place where they could seek assistance and solutions to challenges affecting their businesses.
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industrial Training and Development, Adamson Ayinde, urged the participating artisans to return to their respective states and share information about the achievements and ongoing programmes of the Tinubu administration.
Ayinde further disclosed that artisans across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory would receive official invitations to participate in the 2026 National Industrial Manpower Summit, NIMS 2.0.
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