Skills acquisition: Sustainable solution to unemployment, poverty in Nigeria —Ari, DG, ITF

Recently, Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Sir Joseph Ari had a chat with newsmen at the corporate headquarters of the training fund in Jos, where he spoke on a wide range of issues, especially the use of skills acquisition to address unemployment rate and poverty in Nigeria. ISAAC SHOBAYO brings details.

SIR, your organisation has been laying emphasis on skills acquisition as one of the ways to fight poverty and unemployment, what is the contribution of ITF in this regard?

Since the assumption of the incumbent administration in the ITF, our commitment to equipping Nigerians with technical skills for employability and entrepreneurship has never been in doubt. Indeed, for the first time in the Fund’s history, it trained over 500,000 Nigerians in only four years. Our emphasis on skills acquisition has been premised on our firm belief that it remains the most sustainable solution to increasing poverty and unemployment, and the catalyst to economic growth and development. Therefore, in 2020 and despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented the following skills intervention programmes: the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Special Skills Development Programme (SSDP), Federal Government Skills Empowerment Programme (FEGOSEP), Info-Tech Skills Empowerment Programme (ISEP), and Agri-Preneurship Training Programme (ATP). Together, the programmes trained thousands of Nigerians that were empowered with start-up packs for them to set up on their own.

This year, which we have declared as the year of Skills Escalation for Prosperity, we have commenced processes for the implementation of more skills intervention programmes. The programmes earmarked for implementation are namely: the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), the Construction Skills Empowerment Programme (CONSEP), the Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the Physically Challenged (STEPP-C), the Passion to Profession Programme (P2PP), and the Agri-Preneurship Training Programme (ATP).

Can you give the number of youths that have so far benefited from the programme and their contributions to the economy?

In all the programmes we train about 12,000 Nigerians between three and six months in the following trade areas: Web design and programming, advance computer networking, mobile app development, iron bending, masonry, crop production, aquaculture, poultry, air-conditioning and refrigeration, plumbing, GSM repairs and Ladies’ wig cap making.

Apart from the NISDP that will be implemented in all states of the Federation including the FCT, the rest of the skills intervention programmes will be shared amongst the states. What this means is that whereas some of the states will benefit from one of the skills intervention programmes, others will benefit from two or even three of the programmes. The decision as to which state benefits from a particular programme was based on the likelihood of participants to eke out sustainable livelihoods because of the needs of the states for such particular skill set is noteworthy that in appreciation of our efforts to equip Nigerians with requisite skills, and our contributions to the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in Nigeria, the ITF was named as a member of the Steering Committee of the Federal Government’s Survival Fund that was constituted by the Federal Government to drive the implementation of the various support schemes for MSMEs in the country as part of the National response to the COVID-19 pandemic and as part of Government’s Social Investment Programmes under the Economic Sustainability Plan.

Similarly, the ITF was among the few agencies requested by the Federal Government to forward submissions on lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. If our proposal, which is currently receiving the attention of the authorities, is assented to, the ITF will train over seven million Nigerians in the Agriculture, Construction and Facility Maintenance, Information and Communication Technology, Manufacturing and Services sectors between 2021 and 2031.

We believe that until most Nigerians are equipped with competitive technical skills, we will, as a Nation, continue to fight a losing battle against the blights of poverty and unemployment and their attendant consequences. Our belief is inspired by success stories from countries like Japan, Germany, Vietnam, Singapore and Brazil that transformed into industrial power-houses using technical skills acquisition. We can do the same.

The believe that you cannot do all these alone without being in partnership with local and foreign organisations that have similar mandate like yours, what is your level partnership with these organisations?

As part of further efforts to equip Nigerians with requisite skills, the ITF entered into collaborations and partnerships with local and international organisations. Currently the ITF is in partnership with SENAI of Brazil, Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES) of Singapore, Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) in Isreal, International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Agency (NECA), Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Bank of Industry (BoI), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as well as the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) amongst others. In 2020, the ITF entered into a MoU with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for up-skilling of serving Corps members. We consider the partnership with the NYSC very strategic in view of dwindling opportunities for white collar jobs. We believe that equipping corps members with technical skills will prepare them for self reliance after NYSC. The ITF also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD) to train 23,130 youths in the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT under the Ministry’s Youth Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Programme (YOSDEP) in 22 trade areas.

Apart from skills acquisition, in what other ways is ITF contributing to Nigerian economy?

One of the core functions of the ITF is the provision of direct training services to employers of labour for them to be proilnk/productive and perform optimally. In line with this, despite lockdowns occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the fund through its scheduled and unscheduled training programmes, trained thousands of employees in over 200 organisations across the country.

Bearing in mind the difficult times our stakeholders were passing through on account of the pandemic, some of the programmes implemented included three programmes of nine modules each that were deployed free of charge to employers of labour. The programmes are re-engineering the workplace in challenging times, digital marketing for profitability and workforce health and safety programme.

In addition, in order to provide training that is responsive to the needs of the industrial and commercial sectors of the national economy, the Fund conducts regular Training Needs Assessment (TNA) surveys to identify the needs of our clients. We also reviewed some of our programmes to address emerging challenges. The ITF will continue to be responsive to the needs of all its stakeholders in order for them to be productive and grow the national economy. This year, we are poised to do more in this regard as most of our stakeholders are still struggling to overcome the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be expecting us to provide quick fix capacity solutions for their businesses.

How do you interface with your partners and trainees in view of COVID-19 which tends to discourage large gathering of people and contact?

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the development of physical infrastructure alone is no longer enough. Fortunately, as a dynamic and proactive organisation, the ITF had automated most of its business processes which made it easier for us to conduct our operations even with the restrictions and disruptions caused by the pandemic. E-platforms were already created for the Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) and the reimbursement scheme, while the Electronic Resource Programme (ERP), which enables the staff to carry out various work-related activities, was also deployed. The fund is also currently in the process of launching its online Learning Management System (LMS), to carry out online training programmes, which are becoming a real alternative to classroom type training.

We will continue to aggressively invest in the development of our Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure for deployment of our training activities and other functions of the Fund.

What are you doing to eliminate most of the bureaucratic bottlenecks surrounding Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), it s like most students have lost confidence in the scheme due to nonpayment of their allowances as and when due?

Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is our brain child and in view of its integral role in the training of students of Engineering, Technology and other allied disciplines in our tertiary Institutions, the ITF accords priority attention to management of the Scheme. In 2020, the Fund reviewed the Scheme’s processes for seamless and more effective management in light of prevailing challenges and to fully actualise its objectives. For instance, to ease interactions between and with relevant stakeholders, thereby reduce person to person contact, a website dedicated to SIWES was developed, and launched during the 14th SIWES National Biennial Conference held in October 2020, in Abuja.

Similarly, the fund ensured the payment of students and supervisory allowances. In all, N632,935,000.00 was paid as Student allowance while N77,718,750.00 was paid as supervisory allowance between January and June 2020. I want to assure of our commitment to prompt payment of students and supervisors’ allowances as soon as money is received by the fund from the Federal Government.

Also in line with our Act, the Fund re-imburses contributing employers up to fifty percent of the statutory annual training contributions remitted by them if the Fund’s Governing Council is satisfied that training programmes of the employer were in accordance with the Fund’s Reimbursement Scheme. Since assumption to office of the incumbent Management of the ITF, we have zealously worked towards fulfilling this aspect of our mandate. In addition, the Fund organised several reimbursement workshops to apprise employers of labour on the processes involved in the Re-imbursement Scheme.

Sir, from your explanation quite a lot of youths is being trained, but how do you evaluate and monitor their performance after their training?

I want to tell you that the tracking system in ITF is second to none, monitoring and evaluation is key to our activities, that is why we have continued to keep the records of all those that have passed through the ITF. Also under the National Enterprise Development Programme with Bank of Industry and SEMDAN all those we trained and impart skills to, we introduce them to SEMDAN and Bank of Industry for sift loan to enable those young men and women set up on their own. Also ITF is a member of the steering committee for the COVID-19 Surhival Fund, those who took part were young entrepreneurs, and our organisation was part of the monitoring and evaluation of the survival fund. So we don’t take for granted the issue of monitoring and evaluation, especially to keep tap on those who have benefited from our training and programmes.

Correctional centres across the country have units that deal with the training of inmates to make them have something tangible they can fall back when they finish their sentences, did ITF has skills acquisition programme design for this set of Nigerians?

The name has changed from prison to correctional centre and that is the idea of ITF, an individual go there, realised his error or mistake and having realised this, he needs to come out and become a better Nigerian. And so ITF has been assisting in this regard, we go in there from time to time to assist them particularly on altitude. We also paid for the fees of those who could not pay for fines imposed on them. In term of skills acquisition, we have trained quite a lot of them and signed MoU with the centre.