World Bank IDEAS Project: FG, Gombe govt begin training of 144 artisans
The Federal Government in collaboration with the Gombe State government has begun a five-day training for 144 artisans under the World-bank assisted Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills, (IDEAS) project.
Prof. Idris Muhammad Bugaje, the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) while speaking at the opening ceremony of the event in Gombe on Monday said such training would help address unemployment in Nigeria.
Bugaje stated that skills acquisition was a tool the Federal Government is leveraging to develop the country and ensure that youths were self-employed.
Represented by Mr Lawal Hafiz, Director of Human Resource, NBTE, the executive secretary said the event was a World Bank-IBTE initiative to upskill artisans in the country.
“Today we no longer rely on certificates but skills no matter how little to ensure that we don’t always rely on white collar jobs.
“Those with skills are able to cater for themselves with their skills, so that is why we are here to upskills our youths.”
He stated that the training was for master craft men who were expected to train apprentices under them.
He said the training would go along way in addressing skills gaps in the country.
According to him, with such training, the country will no longer rely on artisans from neighbouring countries to do jobs that youths in Nigeria could do if given the necessary training.
“This training is a standardise one in a manner that anyone that has been certified could go anywhere in the world and get proper placement,” he said.
Bugaje appealed to youths in the country to acquire skills, adding that with skills no youths “will go hungry; if white-collar job comes fine if not, you will go on with your life and become independent.”
On his part, Mr Suleiman Yusuf, a member of IDEAS Project Management team, NBTE said the project was a loan that the Federal Ministry of Education received from the World Bank to support skills and education delivery.
Yusuf said that six states were pioneering the project in the country, listing the states to include Gombe, Kano, Benue, Abia, Edo and Ekiti.
He said that Gombe State was selected to be amongst their first states in view of the commitment shown by the state government toward education and skills development for its youths.
According to him, the Federal Government is focusing on skills because “skills is now a global currency, if you have a recognised and certified skills, you can travel anywhere in the world.”
Yusuf stated that employers were no longer looking for certification but what a person that can do the job for them in exchange for their money.
“If that is the case, skills is the way to go,” he said.
Hajiya Aishatu Maigari, Commissioner of Education, Gombe State said the training was relevant to the industrial park being constructed by the state government to boost investment and economy of the state.
Maigari said there would be no industrial park without human capital, adding that human capital one of the pillars of the state’s 10-year development agenda of Gov. Inuwa Yahaya-led administration.
“This is being done so that when investors come, they will bring their technical expertise and we have technicians on the ground
“Today, we have 144 persons from every ward in the state who are master craft men who are expected to step down the training to over 10, 000 youths,” she said.
The Commissioner said that with the training, certification and the soon-to-be-inaugurated industrial park, the challenge of unemployment would be addressed in the state.
“Those that will be trained today are going to be certified by NBTE and it is going to be an international skilling; so, the certificate is going to be of international standard.
“So, they are going to get certified and employed wherever they are going to be,” she said.