Skills acquisition: ITF set to train 100,000 artisans

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has commenced the process of onboarding the next batch of over 100,000 artisans/trainees for the second phase of its Skill Up Artisans Program (SUPA).

According to a statement by the Director General of ITF, Dr Oluwatoyin Afiz Ogun, the Fund explained that the training has become necessary after a successful completion of the pilot phase of the program, which was the SUPA Foundation.

“Since its 54 years of existence, the Skill Up Artisan (SUPA) program of the ITF is most well-thought-out and impactful intervention to address head-on the problem of availability of skilled manpower to Nigerian Industries.

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“SUPA aims to aggregate existing and intending artisans in Nigeria by leveraging technology, ascertain their skill level, implement training to upskill these artisans, expose them to international certification examinations and ensure they are connected to the real economy either through direct employment or placement in foreign jobs.

“ITF is tasked with implementing this program, drawing on its vast institutional and infrastructural capabilities, and I spared no effort in delivering on this task.

“SUPA is designed for implementation in 3 phases of Foundation, SUPA I and SUPA II. While the Foundation program is the introductory phase of the training, SUPA I trainings focus on the acquisition of 3 soft skills to wit; certification in Artisan Project Management, Artisan Health and Safety and Artisan Ethics and Patriotism.

“SUPA focuses on technical and entrepreneurial training of artisans with exposure to certification examinations by International Awarding Bodies.

“TO graduate 29,000 artisans in the Foundation phase of 2024, ITF created a registration platform; www.supa.itf.gov.ng, conducted a screening exercise in each of the 90 Senatorial Districts in the country to validate the registered artisans, assessed and enlisted qualified Training Centres and monitored training of artisans placed in those centres and independent checks with the artisans who participated in the program confirms that despite initial hiccups, they were duly paid stipend promised by ITF and the Training Centres were also paid” He explained

According to him, as ITF commences the next phase, the DG has indicated that certain innovative steps will be taken to enhance the process of onboarding the trainees as well as improve ease of making all the payments due to them and Training Centres under the program and the internal structuring of ITF departments is afoot to provide institutional/operational support for executing these changes to the program.

” Furthermore, the Fund is pushing to complete the production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as obtain Essential Training Materials (ETMs) before the commencement of the program and the 100, 000 artisans to be trained in SUPA phase I include the 29,000 artisans who were graduated in the Foundation phase of the program. They are to look out for formal Notification of Admission into SUAP Letters which will be dispatched very soon”..

“Additionally, the comprehensive list of the 100,000 trainees onboarded will be displayed on both the SUPA website (www.supa.itf.gov.ng) and on ITF’s official website (www.itf.gov.ng). Phase I training is designed to last for approximately 6 – 8 weeks, after which all the artisans in training would be given an opportunity to write the certification examination at the end of the program at no cost to them.

“Successful candidates from this phase will automatically transition to SUPA Phase II where the technical training in their chosen trade area will be undertaken and certification examination written.”

Ogun stressed that currently, ITF is preparing to undertake another round of Training Centre assessment to increase its number of enlisted Training Centres from 800 to at least 1,500 Centres and the Agency’s management is also discussing with original equipment manufacturers on bulk purchase of training equipment to support these privately owned Training Centres enlisted under SUPA.

“To ensure that the three exits into the larger economy identified under SUPA are fully activated, ITF has reached an advance stage in its work with Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) to link SUPA graduates with gainful employment in industries.

“Also, the structure for SUPA business incubation is being finalized and will be put to test in other Special Projects which will be delivered very soon and I’m doing all in my power to entrench SUPA as an alternative route to prosperity beyond formal education and this will automatically align ITF to its original mandate from inception which was to bridge the nation’s manpower needs through structured modular training,” he noted.