Skill acquisition solution to youths’ illegal migration —ITF DG

Joseph Ntung Ari is the Director General/Chief Executive of the Industrial Training Fund, an organisation saddled with manpower development and skill acquisition in Nigeria. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, he speak about his background, migration of Nigerian youths, their enslavement in Europe and other African countries and how to address the problem, among other issues. Excerpt:

 

Who is Sir Joseph Ari and what is your background like?

I have a very humble background, I am a holder of the West African School Certificate, Diploma in Broadcast Journalism, Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Post Graduate Diploma in Management. I also hold a degree in Law (LL B (Hons.), a Masters Degree in Law LLM, and Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA).  My work career spans a period of over three decades, covering different spheres of disciplines and human endeavour.

 

What are your work experiences, before you got to this level?

For my earlier background in journalism, I  started as a broadcaster from the scratch at the Plateau Broadcasting Corporation as a news reporter/presenter; had a stint with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Lagos as a newscaster and subsequently moved over to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) as a News Editor/Caster.  My work career took me to the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria,(NICON) where I was the Public Relations Manager, North. From there I came home and was appointed as the Director of Press and Public Affairs to two Governors of Plateau State before another appointment as the Sole Administrator and later General Manager of the Plateau Publishing Company, (PPC) Jos.  Thereafter, I was reassigned to the Plateau Radio Television Corporation, (PRTVC), as General Manager.  To date, I remain the first Plateau citizen to have headed the two state media outfits at different times. When I was thinking that I had completed the cycle of public service at the state level, I was appointed Permanent Secretary in charge of Government House Administration; a position I held until the Federal Government appointed me as a Deputy Director in the Department of Public Relations, External Affairs and Publicity of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, a grade ‘A’ Federal Government Parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

 

What are the dynamics and innovations you took  into the system, especially on the image of Industrial Training Fund since your primary assignment then was to sell ITF to the world? 

As the Head of Public Affairs, I introduced the re-branding philosophy, which saw members of staff re-oriented to provide quality service to clients of the Fund. The policy also engaged external stakeholders, thus paving the way for increased support and collaboration for smooth implementation of the ITF Act. I was also at different times the Director of Administration and Human Resource Department, Corporate Planning Department and the Director Business Training Development Department at the ITF Headquarters. Also a onetime Chairman of the Fund’s Training and Research Committee, (T&RC) of Management. All these before my appointment in 2017 as the Director General of the Industrial Training Fund. I started as a journalist and still cherish this background, I am still  a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), a Fellow of the Corporate Administration Institute and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). Recently, I concluded my two terms as a member of the institute’s Governing Council.

 

One of the mandates of the Industrial Training Fund is to make Nigerians, especially the youths to be self reliant in terms of skills acquisition, but the youths are yet to embrace this concept and many of them are migrating to Europe and other African countries to eke out a living and in the process subjecting themselves to a lot of humiliation, what is your organisation doing to stem this development?

Solution to the rising migration of Nigerian youths lies in skill acquisition, we are disturbed by this ugly trend and reports of mass casualties on the high seas, enslavement and other harrowing misfortunes being experienced by Nigerian youths seeking to migrate to Europe. The ITF is appealing to stakeholders to collaborate with ITF in order to equip more Nigerians with skills for employability and entrepreneurship. Equipping Nigerians with relevant skills is not only in line with the Federal Government’s efforts to create jobs, but would stem the current wave of migration, especially by the youths, that has culminated to loss of lives and enslavement of thousands of productive Nigerians. I keep wondering why the mass migration despite the fact that several surveys by the ITF and other organisations have revealed that skills gaps exist that were being filled by foreigners. It is with a view to equipping Nigerians with skills to fill these existing vacancies that the ITF has embarked on a number of initiatives and expanded existing programmes to ensure that more Nigerians are empowered with skills to check unemployment and promote entrepreneurship. Some of the programmes include the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Passion to Profession, Training on Wheels Using Mobile Training Units, the Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) as well as the Vulnerable and Indigent Youth Empowerment Programme (VIYEP)amongst several others.

 

 Can you shed more light on the NISDP?

The  ITF  has trained over 100,000 Nigerians since it commenced, under the current phase that is ongoing in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the ITF is training 11,100 trainees with skills in welding and fabrication, tailoring, garment making, plumbing and pipe fitting.In the last one year alone, over 70,000 Nigerians benefited from these skills acquisition programmes, and all the beneficiaries were given starter packs to start their businesses. About 90 per cent of the beneficiaries were either currently successful entrepreneurs, or earning livelihoods as paid employees according to the monitoring and evaluation of graduates conducted by the ITF. The State Governments, for instance, could collaborate with the ITF towards the establishment of Industrial Skill Training Centres (ISTCs), which will be managed by the ITF on their behalf.

 

But from all indications ITF seems to have its hands in so many things, what is the core mandate of the Fund?

The mandate of the Industrial Training Fund imposes on us the responsibility to provide and promote the acquisition of skills in order to generate a pool of qualified Nigerians to man all sectors of the national economy. This is the mandate we have been charged with, and have pursued all through the years of our existence.The MSMEs is one sub-sector that has been given critical consideration in this pursuit. Our emphasis on the development of the MSMEs is premised on the belief that they are the engines of growth of any economy – be they developed or developing. Most of the countries that are today considered part of the first world like Brazil, China, India and Singapore to mention but a few, rode on the back of a vibrant and strong MSMEs sub-sector to be what they are today. In most countries, they (MSMEs) are the highest GDP earners and highest employers of labour.

In Nigeria, for instance, it contributes about 48.7 per cent to the GDP and employs over 59 million Nigerians. It is, therefore, a critical sector that could only be ignored at our own peril, especially now that the country is striving to create jobs and combat unemployment, ensure the environment for inclusive growth and generally diversify the economy.

 

 What is the ITF doing in view of the renewed effort by the Federal Government to unlock the MSMEs sub-sector?

I would say that as the leading capacity building institution in Nigeria, we perhaps had realised the importance of the MSMEs earlier, and commenced a number of initiatives that are targeted at driving the sub-sector. For instance, over the last few years, the fund has been implementing a skills acquisition programme, the National Industrial Skills Development Programme that is targeted at equipping Nigerians with skills for employability and entrepreneurship. Since it commenced in 2012, the programme has trained over 90,000 Nigerians. Another phase of the programme is currently on-going and will train 9,000 Nigerians from 18 states of the federation. A key component of the programme is business education – how to manage your business, how to develop business plans, source finance and basic accounting.

In addition, we encourage states that are benefiting from the programme at the given time, to support their indigenes that are participating in the programme with starter packs. Our target is to ensure that our trainees become entrepreneurs rather than employees.

Similarly, in the ITF reviewed vision; strategies for mandate actualisation, a home grown 4-year plan that management unveiled on my assumption of duty, the development of MSMEs sub-sector occupy a prominent place. The plan has quick wins, medium and long term goals.

These are efforts that the ITF is undertaking. The presidential charge is, therefore, a validation of our efforts and shall spur us to do more.

 

Can you throw more light on the ITF reviewed vision especially as it affects the MSMEs?

Like I earlier mentioned, the plan has three phases – quick wins, medium term and long term goals. Under the Quick wins, the ITF intends to implement strategies that will boost job creation, reduce poverty and create wealth. Most of them have strong bearing on the MSMEs. In the area of agriculture, which was the mainstay of Nigeria at independence, and a key component of the economic diversification agenda, for instance, the Fund intends to develop the capacity of Nigerian farmers along the agricultural value chains. Specific areas targeted by the plan include fish farming, poultry production, crop production, Agric-mechanisation, agric-business, post-harvest management, manure production, technology and farm management, and water resource management.

To actualise this, the Fund has concluded plans to commence the training of 17,000 unemployed youths using its Industrial Skills Training Centre (ISTC) in Kano and the Centre for Excellence in Jos and undeveloped lands owned by the ITF in states for the establishment of demonstration farms.

This is even as efforts have been stepped up for the acquisition of land in eight States – Anambra, Benue, Kano, Plateau, Gombe, Oyo, Ogun and Niger for the same purpose.  The Fund will actively seek collaboration with states’ Ministries of Agriculture, existing local farmers, farmers’ associations like Fadama Project for Farm Equipment, Seedlings and Capacity Building and also explore the possibility of financial grants from International and Local Agencies including Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Central Bank of Nigeria and Bank of Industry amongst others. The emphasis of the plan on agriculture is premised on the conviction that to achieve food security and conserve the huge foreign reserve that is currently expended on the importation of food items; the requisite capacity of Nigerians in this area must be developed.

In addition, in view of the soaring unemployment, especially among the youth; a situation that has been made worse recently by the global economic recession, the ITF plans to implement strategies that will directly lead to jobs. Our disposition is informed by the fact that even in the face of this seeming lack of jobs, several surveys, including those conducted by the ITF have indicated that vacancies still exist in certain sectors that are being filled by people other than Nigerians, because we lack the required technical skills.  To this end, the Fund intends to develop the skills of Nigerians in the construction sector and the services industry. In the construction sector, the Fund intends to equip Nigerians with skills in these areas: welding and fabrication, reinforcing metal works, domestic electrical installation, carpentry and joinery, tiling, masonry, block and brick making, plumbing and pipe fitting and plaster of paris (POP) making. According to the plan, this year alone, the ITF will train 18,500 Nigerians in the aforementioned vocational trades and crafts areas using ITF Industrial Skills Training Centres and selected satellite centres. To ensure achievement of this ambition, the Fund will enter into a collaboration with agencies and organisations like Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN), Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), Julius Berger Plc and SETRACO amongst others for technical and financial assistance.

For the services industry, the ITF will build the capacity of Nigerians in 17 vocational trade areas including; GSM repairs, generator repairs, computer hardware repairs, software installation, marketing, catering services, event management, automobile and tri-cycle maintenance and repairs, autotronics, tailoring, air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance and repairs, ICT Web Design, Satellite Dish Installation and maintenance, facility maintenance and repairs and interior decoration. In all, 9,250 Nigerians will be equipped with these skills and may end up as key operators in the MSMEs.

In the medium and long term, efforts are in place for the formal commissioning of the Lokoja ISTC, even as plans will be accelerated towards the establishment of 36 Industrial Skills Training Centres in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), three automotive parts production and training centres will also be established in Badagry, Nnewi and Kaduna and six Centres of Advanced Skills Training for Employment (CASTE) that will be sited in the six geopolitical zones of the country. In addition, three specialised centres in Oil and Gas will also be established. All these projects will be completed between 2018 and 2020.

 

What do you consider to be the most significant impediment to a vibrant MSMEs sub-sector?

During the inauguration of the National Council on MSMEs, the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, identified access to finances, access to markets, weak business development, dearth of technical skills, lack of infrastructure and insufficient market information as major obstacles to the growth of the sub-sector. From our interactions with operators, the vice president captured the core of their problems. The questions that immediately come to mind are these: Why does it take so long for a potential operator to secure loans in Nigeria for instance, as compared to his colleagues in other countries? Why is it so difficult for him or her to secure financing or even register their business? These challenges the Federal Government has promised to solve, but what I think is the most formidable obstacle is the absence of the right skills by most operators in the sub-sector. Most of them are poorly educated and lack the basic knowledge of running a business and source financing. Some are even bereft of the skills to keep records.

It is with these in mind that all our training, particularly those targeted at the MSMEs have business management elements. Under the NISDP, a three-month skills acquisition programme that is directly targetted at instilling the youths with skills for employability and entrepreneurship, several weeks of the programme are dedicated to teaching trainees how to develop business plans, source financing, basic accounting and general requirements  for management of a successful business. To my mind, this is the reason why most graduands of the scheme today are successful entrepreneurs

Under the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP), which the ITF implements in concert with the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) for the training of middle level manpower and potential entrepreneurs, business education is also a significant component of the one year training programme. The same elements have been introduced into other short term technical skills acquisition programmes. This is even as we have stepped up our engagement programmes with MSMEs.

All these are geared towards strengthening the sector as we believe that having access to capital and a bankable proposal are not certainties that you will be successful in your business without the requisite technical and managerial skills.

 

  In the light of the Federal Government’s emphasis on MSMEs, do we see the ITF doing more?

Yes, beyond the vice president’s charge, there are obvious problems in the national economy that will be helped, or even perhaps be solved by a vibrant MSMEs sub-sector.

Take unemployment as a case in point, as I had earlier mentioned, the MSMEs are the highest employers of labour in the country even in the state they are today, with the ease of financing, better information systems and the right technical skills, they are likely to employ more.  The MSMEs are clearly the most veritable vehicle for job creation, national growth and development.

As an institution vested with the mandate to train Nigerians, we have no choice but to do more. We are beholden. In recognition of this, we have concluded plans to expand our existing initiatives, especially those targeted at capacity building for MSMEs.

The National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) will be rolled-out.in all states of the federation and the FCT at the same time. With time, we may also consider the possibility of running several streams within a single phase so that more Nigerians will benefit.

The Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) will also be expanded to more centres from its present 16 while stepping up our MSMEs advisory services.

In addition, we have concluded arrangement for the commencement of two new initiatives called Women Skills Entrepreneurship Programme (WOSEP) and the Graduates Re-Skilling Programme. The WOSEP will be flagged-off in June, 2018. The Graduation Re-skilling Programme will follow soon.