• NECA says 90% of programme beneficiaries secured jobs or established businesses
James Emejo in Abuja
The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), yesterday, called for targeted financing and equipment support for technically trained youths. They warned that the absence of start-up capital could prevent skilled graduates from translating their competencies into businesses and jobs.
The two organisations said Nigeria’s technical skills development drive must move beyond training numbers to measurable economic outcomes, including sustainable employment, enterprise creation, and higher industrial productivity.
The call was made at a stakeholders’ dialogue and award ceremony organised under the ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP).
Chairman of ITF Governing Board, Hamma-Adama Ali Kumo, said the country’s industrial development depended on a workforce capable of meeting the technical demands of modern production.
Kumo said the partnership between ITF and NECA demonstrated how public-private collaboration could make vocational training more responsive to the practical requirements of industry.
Represented by Mrs. Mercy Oyewole, Kumo maintained that the success of skills development initiatives should not be judged solely by the number of people trained, but by how many graduates secured relevant jobs, established sustainable businesses, and improved their livelihoods.
He called for expanded apprenticeship schemes, workplace placements, mentorship, and enterprise support to strengthen the link between training and employment.
He also urged employers to open their facilities to structured workplace learning, provide experienced mentors, and give graduates opportunities to demonstrate their competencies.
Kumo stressed the need for investment in trainers, modern equipment, and updated curricula that reflect changes in industrial processes, while calling for wider access to technical education for women, persons with disabilities, and young people facing economic barriers.
He urged stakeholders to improve the recognition of technical occupations, including welding, machining, furniture making, and maintenance, which he described as essential to national development.
In his remarks, NECA Director General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, urged the Bank of Industry (BoI) to provide starter packs and other support for qualified graduates seeking to establish businesses.
Oyerinde said equipping young people with technical skills without providing the tools and resources to deploy them would leave a critical gap in the effort to tackle unemployment.
He said helping a trained technician establish a viable enterprise could have a multiplier effect by creating additional jobs and expanding productive capacity.
The appeal highlights a key challenge in Nigeria’s vocational training system: converting technical competence into income-generating opportunities, particularly for graduates who may lack the financial capacity to acquire equipment and establish workshops after completing their training.
Oyerinde disclosed that records from the ITF-NECA programme showed that about 90 per cent of its graduates had secured employment or established their own businesses, while 84 public and private sector organisations had participated in the initiative.
Established on March 31, 2009, the project emerged from a 2008 survey jointly conducted by ITF and NECA that identified a mismatch between the skills available in the labour market and the technical competencies required by employers.
The survey identified shortages in mechanical maintenance, welding, electrical and electronic maintenance, automation, instrumentation, and other industrial trades.
According to Oyerinde, the programme has since trained thousands of young Nigerians across more than 35 technical and vocational trades, extending its reach across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
He said sustaining the gains would require a stronger commitment from industry, government, and development partners, particularly as technological changes reshape the skills demanded by employers.
Artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, and digital manufacturing, he stated, were changing workplace requirements and making continuous improvements in technical training imperative.
Oyerinde also advocated stronger collaboration between the ITF-NECA project and ITF’s Skill-Up Artisans initiative to expand technical competence and improve the supply of skilled workers.
He cited a separate digital skills programme undertaken by NECA in collaboration with the International Organisation of Employers and Microsoft, through which more than 101,000 young Nigerians reportedly registered for artificial intelligence training, while over 87,000 obtained certification.
Equally speaking, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Muhammad Dingyadi, said technical and vocational education remained central to the federal government’s efforts to promote decent employment, improve productivity, and reduce youth unemployment.
Represented by the ministry’s Director of Skills Development, Ojelade Gabriel, Dingyadi called for deeper industry participation in vocational training and apprenticeship development, insisting that programmes must align with actual labour market requirements.
He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to initiatives that promote employment, productive engagement, and inclusive economic growth, while congratulating the trainees recognised at the ceremony.