Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has signed an agreement with the United Kingdom’s Skills for Prosperity- Nigeria (S4P-N) programme, a two-year UK Aid funded programme, to promote and institutionalize the Fund’s intervention programmes to become flagship programmes for the National Apprenticeship Training System (NATS).
Disclosing this in a press statement, ITF Director of Public Affairs, Mrs. Suleyol Fred-Chagu said Skills for Prosperity-Nigeria programme, would equip youths and vulnerable groups with skills that offer them a more attractive pathway into employment and meet employers’ needs for a more skilled workforce.
She said that the Director-General of the ITF, Sir Joseph Ari had, during the signing of the agreement, said that the S4P-N Approach is also implemented across nine fast growing economies which include Brazil, South Africa and Kenya, and will build an industry-led National Apprenticeship and Training System (NATS) that is linked with mainstream education by enabling a pathway to career oriented learning that offers unemployed youths that are not in education or training, a new opportunity to skill-up and participate gainfully in the national and global economy.
According to the Director General, ITF is best suited for the programme considering its mandate, and has willingly agreed to act as strategic owner of this National Apprenticeship and Training System.
“We will work alongside the Skills for Prosperity-Nigeria team to institutionalize a formal system that can meet enterprise workforce needs and lead to increased productivity, but more importantly create an enabling environment for the youth of Nigeria to be productively engaged.”
Ari added that the ITF will work towards increasing access for youths, especially women and persons with disabilities to actively participate in skills development, while also improving the quality of 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 puts emphasis on stakeholder involvement and accountability.
He lauded the initiative of the United Kingdom Government through the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and assured of the Fund’s commitment in ensuring that the objectives of the partnership are met and provides the appropriate foundation for further synergy.