Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has signed an agreement with the United Kingdom’s Skills for Prosperity – Nigeria (S4P-N) programme to promote and institutionalise the Fund’s intervention programme in Nigeria.
ITF says this is expected to become the flagship programmes for the National Apprenticeship Training System (NATS).
This is contained in a statement signed by the Fund’s Director of Public Affairs Department, Mrs Suleyol Fred Chagu.
Chagu said that the Director-General of the Fund, Sir Joseph Ari, disclosed that the Skills for Prosperity-Nigeria programme, is a two-year UK Aid funded programme.
ITF will equip youths and vulnerable groups with skills that offered them a more attractive pathway into employment to meet employers’ needs for a more skilled workforce.
Ari said that the S4P-N Approach was also implemented across nine fast growing economies such as Brazil, South Africa and Kenya.
He said that the approach would build an industry-led National Apprenticeship and Training System (NATS) that would be linked with the mainstream education thereby enabling a pathway to career oriented learning that offers youths employment, education or training in a new opportunity to skill and participate gainfully in the national and global economy.
He also stated that the ITF, given its mandate, is best suited and has willingly agreed to act as a strategic owner of the National Apprenticeship and Training System.
The director-general said the Fund would work alongside the Skills for Prosperity-Nigeria team to institutionalise a formal system that could meet the enterprise workforce needs and in turn an increased productivity, but more importantly create an enabling environment for the youths of Nigeria to be productively engaged.
He added that the ITF would work toward increasing access for youths, especially women and persons with disabilities to actively participate in skills development.
He said the Fund would improve the quality of its apprenticeships and traineeships by aligning it to the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework in order to attract private sector participation in apprenticeships and promote a governance and funding model that put emphasis on stakeholder involvement and accountability.
Ari revealed that the ITF welcomed the initiative of the United Kingdom Government through the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and assured the Skills for Prosperity – Nigeria of the Fund’s commitment in ensuring that the objectives of the partnership were met and further provided the appropriate foundation for further synergy.
The statement further said that the UK’s Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Ben Llewellyn-Jones said the UK has a global reputation for education and skills characterised by excellence and quality.
It said that the UK would support Nigeria to strengthen her skills development system to produce a more competent technical workforce that increased productivity and economic development.
