The Federal Government is currently onboarding 23,991 N-Skills beneficiaries for training on additional 11 trades including Auto-mechanic, Leatherworks and Shoe making, Smart Devices, Welding & Fabrication.
Others are Aluminum Assembly & Fabrication, Plumbing & Piping, Electrical Installations, Agency Banking, Tailoring & Embroidery, Baking & Cosmetology, Fish Farming and Jewelry-Making & Wire Works.
In order to complete the training of the beneficiaries, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social has selected 1,830 MCPs from the 36 States and FCT for the 6-months apprenticeship who were carefully selected using NBTE-guided criteria.
The disclosure was made by the Minister in charge of the Ministry, Sadiya Umar Faruk at the closing ceremony of the training of Master Craft Persons (MCPs) and flagging-off of the N-Skills (Pilot 2) programme held on Tuesday, at Professor Iya Abubakar Computer Center, Bauchi.
According to her, “today, we are concluding the Orientation/preparatory training of MCPs selected from the North-East geopolitical zone and flagging-off the commencement of the second pilot of the N-Skills programme”.
The orientation/capacity-building training equipped the MCPs with basic knowledge and appreciation of their roles and functions to enable them to participate meaningfully in the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) training system as well as the use of training curricular based on the National Occupational Standards (NOS) in apprenticeship training.
The Minister added that, “As we wind up the training, the Ministry is working with relevant stakeholders (including the NBTE and relevant Awarding Bodies) on formation of MCP clusters and to provide hand-holding support for strengthening MCP cluster structures and internal governance”.
According to her, the Ministry is also paying a modest stipend to the MCPs to enhance the delivery of the training saying that, “We expect you, Master Craft Persons, to effectively play your role of providing work-based training for the next 6 months, to boost their productivity and incomes and to explore the opportunity of becoming NBTE-accredited skills trainers” .
She added that the N-Skills programme provides unique solutions to the two perennial challenges of youth unemployment and low productivity in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector.
Sadiya Farouk further said that, “It gives us the opportunity to onboard large numbers of unemployed and marginalized youths in the country and bring them into productive employment and formal education system, in the shortest possible time” .
“This will potentially translate into broad based, inclusive national economic prosperity, which is in line with President Buhari’s social inclusion agenda. This Administration has created an opportunity for you, either as N-Skills MCP or trainee, to change your socioeconomic status and contribute meaningfully to national development. I urge you to therefore, actively participate to learn and to enhance your productivity”, She added.
The Minister then explained that since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in 2015, the Federal Government has paid more attention to promoting the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country despite the economic slump the Administration inherited.
This informed the decision to initiate the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) as a strategy for enhancing social inclusion as one of the largest social protection programmes in Africa with about $1billion earmarked annually to cause positive change in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable in the country.
According to her, “Since its introduction in 2016, the programme has impacted positively on the lives of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria. I have personally witnessed the life-changing experiences of people who lived below the poverty line and those that are vulnerable to shocks”.
She further said that, “In furtherance to President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval for the restructuring of NSIP, and in line with the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), we instituted processes to revamp and expand the NSIP and to make it more impactful on the economy and citizens”.
“This led to the introduction of the N-Skills programme, which is based on a certification system and accreditation of training provided through the informal Apprenticeship System anchored by Master Craft Persons (MCPs), and through the formal training system using the Community Skills Development Centres (COSDECs)”, She added.
The Minister then said that the programme targets the marginalized and disadvantaged population, including those with primary education as well as those not in any Education, Employment or Training (NEET).
“It aims to improve the quality and relevance of skills delivered using a nationally standardized certification system on the one hand, and to ease the transition of target beneficiaries to full-time skilled employment or self-employment, on the other. It will help in bridging the gap in demand for standard and market relevant skills”, She explained.
The Ministry piloted the N-Skills programme with the tooling and training of 6,475 youths selected from the 36 States and FCT on Smart Phone Repairs and Service in 2021. Given the job creation potentials of the programme, we introduced new trades to create more opportunities for our teeming youths under Pilot 2 of the programme.
Sadiya Farouk acknowledged the technical support and professional services provided by the consulting firms engaged by the Ministry to organize the training of MCPs and to provide technical support for the management of the N-Skills programme.
She expressed confident saying, “We will get maximum value for the money and effort invested in the newly introduced N-Skills programme. I also deeply appreciate the support of other stakeholders and their contribution towards realizing Mr. President’s agenda of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. On this note, I, therefore, formally declare the Training of Master Craft Persons closed and flag-off the N-Skills (Pilot 2) Programme”.
In his remarks, leading Consultant of the programme, Dr Mohammed Sagagi assured that the training is for the trainers who will in turn train the beneficiaries of the skills who have been selected and waiting to be trained.
Mohammed Sagagi further assured that the trainers will be adequately equipped with the necessary skills which they will in plant on the trainees aimed at reducing the spate of unemployment among the teeming youths roaming the streets.