By Golok Nanmwa
JOS – The Industrial Training Fund says it has committed over N700 million to the international certification of more than 7,000 Nigerian artisans under the Federal Government’s Skill-Up Artisans, SUPA, programme.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of ITF, Dr. Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, disclosed this while monitoring the ongoing international certification examination at the ITF Centre of Excellence in Jos, Plateau State. Ogun said the examination was being conducted across 27 states and 28 examination centres, marking a major expansion of the international certification component of the SUPA programme after an earlier pilot exercise in Abuja involving more than 200 artisans.
The ITF boss said the initiative was aimed at changing the narrative around Nigerian artisans by equipping them with internationally recognised qualifications that would enable them to compete for jobs and business opportunities both within Nigeria and abroad. He said the Federal Government was determined to ensure that Nigerian artisans no longer remained disadvantaged in the global labour market because of a lack of recognised certification. Ogun said: “We promised Nigerians that Nigerian artisans will have an opportunity to have a bouquet of certification.” He explained that beneficiaries would also retain Nigeria’s National Skills Qualification Framework, NSQF, certification, stressing that combining local and international qualifications would significantly improve the credibility and mobility of Nigerian artisans.
