By Ossom Raphael
The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has trained another batch of 11,100 youths under its 2020 National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP).
Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, during the graduation ceremony of the beneficiaries in Abuja, said the training was part of Federal Government’s commitment to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
While commending the skills intervention programmes of ITF, the Minister called for more support to tackle the problem of unemployment in the country.
Katagum said: “the enormous task of youth empowerment should therefore not be left to the ITF and other government agencies alone.
“I therefore call on all critical stakeholders and other agencies with similar mandates, to synergise in tackling the ominous twin challenges of unemployment and poverty, that have bedeviled our dear country and continent for too long”.
The Minister, identified poverty and unemployment as some of the major factors facing the country, and reiterated the commitment of the federal government in tackling them.
The Director General of ITF, Sir Joseph Ari, had earlier said the beneficiaries of the programme were trained in three trade areas, including tailoring, cosmetology, and Information and Information Communication Technology.
Ari also said others were trained in specialised programmes like Special Skills Development Programme, SSDP, Federal Government Skills Empowerment Programme, FEGOSEP, Info-Tech Empowerment Programme, ISEP and Agri-Prenuership Training Programme, ATP, among others.
He disclosed that 300 beneficiaries were drawn from each state of the federation and the FCT, and said the agency committed towards job creation, youth empowerment and poverty reduction in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration agenda despite the impact of the pandemic.
“What is again very clear is that the efforts of the Federal Government alone cannot completely solve the problems of poverty and unemployment and the attendant fallouts.
“Indeed, the problems that stare us in the face today require Nigerians to pull together and synergise as institutions of Government, Corporate bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations to fully resolve them, ” Ari said.
Some of the beneficiaries of the training programme expressed gratitude to ITF for empowering them and said the training would make them self-reliant.
Highpoint of the programme was presentation of start-up packs to beneficiaries of the training programme.
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