The Federal Government has commenced a nationwide vocational training programme for more than 18,000 artisans and unemployed Nigerians, with participants scheduled to begin training on Tuesday at 229 accredited centres spread across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The initiative, being implemented by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), is designed to equip beneficiaries with practical vocational skills, entrepreneurship training and trade-specific starter packs to help them become self-employed and reduce poverty.
Speaking at the official launch of the programme in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, said the initiative supports President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by helping vulnerable Nigerians transition from dependence to economic self-reliance.
“One of the key reasons why we are doing this flag-off is to ensure that over 18,000 Nigerians are empowered through skill acquisition so that they can get into that pathway from vulnerability to self-sustainability,” the Minister said.
Doro explained that the two-week training programme is targeted at Nigerians who already possess basic vocational knowledge but require additional technical training to improve their productivity.
“The beneficiaries are people who have acquired some sort of soft skills already. They will be up-skilled and then given tools so that they can begin to trade with them,” he said.
The Minister also disclosed that the Ministry had put in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system, including digital tracking technology, to monitor beneficiaries and the starter packs distributed after the training.
NSIPA National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Badamasi Lawal, said the programme would be delivered through accredited government technical colleges, vocational institutions and approved training centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
According to him, beneficiaries will receive training in 14 vocational trades, including automobile technology, agriculture, baking and confectionery, carpentry, catering, electrical installation, fashion design, plumbing, welding, masonry, hospitality, jewellery making, grinding machine operations and vulcanising.
Lawal added that participants would also undergo entrepreneurship training covering business management, financial literacy, digital literacy, customer relations and enterprise sustainability before receiving trade-specific starter packs.
“Successful participants will receive trade-specific starter packs to facilitate immediate business start-up,” he said.
He stated that beneficiaries were selected through what he described as a transparent and inclusive process involving the National Assembly, state governments, traditional rulers, religious leaders, community development associations, youth and women groups, persons with disabilities and other stakeholders.
Lawal noted that unemployed youths, women, vulnerable persons and economically disadvantaged Nigerians capable of building sustainable livelihoods were given priority.
He explained that the programme was also introduced to tackle youth unemployment while putting thousands of vocational starter packs, which had remained unused in government warehouses because of administrative and operational challenges, into productive use.
According to him, prolonged storage had resulted in the deterioration of some equipment and increased warehouse costs.
“Rather than allowing these public assets to depreciate, the Federal Government approved their refurbishment, deployment and distribution to qualified beneficiaries after practical skills training,” he said.
Lawal warned beneficiaries against selling the starter packs, stressing that every item distributed would be digitally tracked.
