The Federal Government has commenced a six-month technical and vocational training programme for 2,549 Nigerian youths in Abuja and Niger State, targeting skills acquisition as a pathway to employment and entrepreneurship.
The programme, implemented under the Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills Technical and Vocational Education and Training initiative, involves 21 Training Service Providers.
The initiative is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education in partnership with the World Bank.
It seeks to modernise technical colleges, upgrade workshops, train instructors and equip Nigerian youths with market-driven vocational, technical and digital skills.
The Federal Government plans to expand the programme to train between 70,000 and 80,000 young Nigerians across various states through approved Training Service Providers.
Speaking at the joint flag-off ceremony in Abuja on Friday, the National Project Coordinator of the IDEAS-TVET project, Mrs Blessing Ehi Ogwu, urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously and focus on acquiring skills rather than the stipends attached to the programme.
“The essence is for you to acquire a skill. So, at the end of this training, you don’t need to go about begging.
“You don’t need to go about seeking jobs in offices. Once you have a skill, you are better than those of us in the office,” she said.
Ogwu said skilled youths could earn more independently than those relying solely on monthly salaries.
“You can make what you work for 30 days in a month and get paid for it. You can make it in one week if you are committed to your training,” she added.
She urged the beneficiaries to give their best and make maximum use of the opportunity provided by the Federal Government.
“I’m sure if I had that opportunity, by now I would not be moving around working for government. I would have had something bigger and greater.
“But you now have the opportunity. Make maximum use of it. Don’t focus on the stipends.”
Ogwu disclosed that beneficiaries must achieve at least 65 per cent attendance to qualify for their stipends.
“We have a policy that you must meet your 65 per cent for you to qualify for your stipend. So, if you don’t meet your 65 per cent, you will not get your stipend,” she said.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Komtek Engineering Services and Consultancy Limited, Engr Ejoga O. Inalegwu, described the IDEAS-TVET initiative as a major intervention in skills acquisition, empowerment and poverty reduction.
Inalegwu said his organisation was training 200 beneficiaries in three agricultural areas—poultry, fishery and aquaculture, and crop production and processing.
He said 118 trainees were undergoing poultry training, 48 fishery and aquaculture training, while 34 were being trained in crop production and processing.
According to him, all the beneficiaries are also receiving entrepreneurship training.
“We are in the rural community of Kuchiko Ijah, in Niger State, and training 157 females and 43 males,” he said.
Inalegwu said the trainees were drawn from the FCT, Niger and neighbouring states, including Kaduna, Kogi and Nasarawa, with representation from other parts of the country.
He said the programme had already begun changing the lives of participants and impacting their communities.
“The lives of the participants are obviously being changed and the community is being impacted, giving effect to the essence of the programme,” he said.
He added, “The results we are seeing is a testimony to the efficacy of the project.”
Speaking on behalf of the joint flag-off committee, Ebenezer Azah Chris said the government could not employ the millions of graduates produced annually, making vocational skills critical to reducing unemployment.
“Let me give you an example. We have about 2.1 million graduates every year.
“The government cannot employ everybody, but if they have skills, they will stay off the streets,” she said.
Chris said the six-month programme comprised three months of training and three months of internship.
She commended the Federal Government for establishing the programme and expressed optimism that the beneficiaries would use the skills to create businesses or secure employment.
One of the beneficiaries, Hossana Gbako Apkhere, who is undergoing poultry farming training with Komtek Engineering Services and Consultancy Limited, said the programme had changed her outlook.
“My expectation is to become an entrepreneur. The training has given us knowledge and taught us how to stand on our own,” she said.
Apkhere said the training had restored her confidence and determination to succeed.
“I now have the determination to go higher because of what they have taught us,” she added.
She appealed to the Federal Government to sustain such interventions, particularly for unemployed youths, housewives and Nigerians facing economic difficulties.
Another beneficiary, Ogaba Emmanuel, a Bachelor of Engineering graduate undergoing CNG conversion training with Lanre Shittu Motors, described the programme as an eye-opener.
“It means a lot to me. The training exposed me to so many things, particularly in the area of CNG, which I am already involved in,” he said.
Ogaba said the growing adoption of CNG could create employment opportunities while providing an alternative to conventional fuel.
“The training has helped me understand that CNG has come to stay and can also help reduce the rate of unemployment among youths,” he said.
He added that greater utilisation of gas could create economic value while reducing gas flaring.
“Now, there is another medium through which the gas can be utilised to generate economic value, while also reducing unemployment,” Ogaba said.