The Industrial Training Fund, ITF, has unveiled plans to produce a new generation of 21st-century artisans equipped with technical, entrepreneurial and professional skills to bridge Nigeria’s skills gap and promote self-reliance.
Director-General of the Fund, Dr. Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, disclosed this in Jos during the commissioning of a newly rehabilitated and modernised filling station at the ITF headquarters.
Ogun said the Fund was expanding its interventions beyond conventional skills acquisition programmes, with plans to establish specialised training facilities and equip young Nigerians with relevant competencies to compete in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.
He said the ITF Nigeria Skills Academy, targeted at secondary school students, would expose participants not only to technical trades but also entrepreneurship, patriotism, professional ethics, industrial safety and project management.
According to him, the initiative was designed to produce a new generation of artisans fundamentally different from the conventional artisans currently available in the country.
“We are not just teaching these children technical trades. We will incorporate entrepreneurship, patriotism, professional ethics, industrial safety and project management.
“When we train them this way, you will see them different from the old artisans.
“ITF will continue to manage and support the old artisans, but we are determined to generate new 21st-century artisans, and we are starting from our children,” Ogun said.
The ITF Director-General disclosed that the Fund was also planning the establishment and commissioning of Digital Fabrication Centres across the country, including specialised facilities for leather works, shoe production, textiles and ceramics.
He listed other projects lined up for commissioning to include modern staff quarters and the West Africa Digital Fabrication Centre in Ogba, Lagos.
According to Ogun, ITF, as Nigeria’s foremost training institution, had a responsibility to demonstrate the practical application of skills development and the dual education system needed to transform the country’s workforce.
“Everybody is talking about dual education in Nigeria. We are the trainers of Nigeria and we must show the example.
“We are promoting, providing and encouraging the acquisition of skills. We are bringing up new generations of artisans who will be equipped for the challenges of the modern economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Fund has commissioned a newly rehabilitated and modernised filling station at its headquarters in Jos, with the Director-General announcing the distribution of 5,000 litres of petrol free to 500 motorists to mark the occasion.
Ogun said the facility, which had remained abandoned and inactive for several years, was revived by the present management as part of efforts to improve operational efficiency, revive moribund infrastructure and strengthen staff welfare.
He explained that the filling station would serve both ITF operational vehicles and members of staff, who would be issued special cards to purchase fuel, with the cost deducted gradually from their salaries.
“This filling station is not just for ITF vehicles as it used to be in the past. It is for our staff.
“We are workers and we understand that no matter how much you earn, there are times when it is not enough. You may have money to take care of your family but find yourself without cash to buy fuel.
“With this arrangement, you can access fuel and the amount can be deducted gradually from your salary,” he said.
As part of activities marking the commissioning, Ogun announced that 5,000 litres of petrol would be dispensed free of charge, with each of the first 500 vehicles receiving 10 litres.
Earlier, the Director of Estate Management at ITF, Meshieliza Dauda, said the filling station was strategically important to the operations, administration and overall efficiency of the organisation.
He said the facility, occupying approximately 2,000 square metres, had remained inactive and underutilised for years before the present management approved its rehabilitation and modernisation.
According to him, the project was conceived as part of efforts to revive abandoned infrastructure and put government assets into productive use.
Dauda said the station had been equipped with modern dispensing pumps capable of facilitating efficient and simultaneous fuel dispensing, adding that provision had also been made for the installation of a Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, facility.
He added that a 52-square-metre administrative building was constructed to support the effective day-to-day management of the station.
According to him, adequate safety measures, including firefighting equipment and other relevant safety installations, were incorporated into the facility to guarantee the safe handling and dispensing of petroleum products.
.