The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) says it will discontinue the distribution of starter packs to graduates of its skills acquisition programmes and focus instead on equipping them with local and international job certifications.
The Director-General of ITF, Dr Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
He said the decision aligns with the commencement of the second phase of the Skill-Up Artisans (SUPA) programme, which aims to boost employability and competitiveness of Nigerian artisans in the global job market.
According to him, ITF plans to increase the number of accredited privately-owned training centres across the country from 880 to 1,500.
“As graduates of the SUPA programme, beneficiaries will earn local and international certifications. They will also benefit from our business incubation initiatives,” Ogun said.
He explained that the agency targets the graduation of 100,000 artisans under the second phase, drawn from the 29,000 who completed Phase I and over 700,000 registered artisans on the SUPA platform.
Ogun noted that to ensure accessibility, ITF aims to establish at least two training centres in every local government area.
He added that the accreditation process for training centres involves rigorous assessments, including infrastructure inspection, equipment evaluation, and verification of instructor qualifications.
“Once the accreditation process is completed, ITF will publish the list of approved centres, categorised into A, B, and C, and artisans will be notified of their deployment to centres closest to their residence,” he stated.
The deployment exercise, according to the DG, is scheduled to be completed before April 30, 2025.
Ogun said the agency has already trained over 3,000 instructors under a train-the-trainer scheme to strengthen the capacity of the training centres.
He assured that ITF would continue to make strategic investments to ensure the success of the SUPA programme and improve the global competitiveness of Nigerian artisans.
