ITF move to support policy on economic diversification

By Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has reiterated the commitment of the fund to key into the economic diversification policy of the Federal Government, stressing that no meaningful growth in the economy can take place without availability of skilled manpower.

This was stated at a parley with members of staff drawn from the Jos Area Office, Staff School and Centre for Excellence Bukuru, with the Acting Director-General of the Fund, Mr. Dickson Onuoha, recently.

Onuoha posited that the ITF, saddled with the responsibility of training young entrepreneurs, would position youths with skills away from oil that would impact positively to the growth of the economy.

Onuoha also said that the current focus of the ITF on training for job creation was to assist the ongoing effort to curb insecurity and reduce unemployment across the country.

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He therefore called on the staff to contribute innovative ideas that would assist in the actualisation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision for a greater Nigeria. He, however, noted that if the goal must be achieved, the training and retraining of staff must be intensified to sharpen their skills for higher productivity,pledging also, to improve their welfare.

His words, “The present ITF Management board, attaches high premium to building the internal capacity of staff. You cannot provide quality service to our clients without being abreast with current trends in the industry”, he said. Onuoha also used the occasion to notify staff of the Fund on take-off of the 5th Phase of the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), in Abuja. He stressed that the programme would run in the remaining states in batches.

Members of staff at the parley commended the visionary leadership of Mr. Onuoha especially the turn-around within a short time of his assumption of office and also his decision to expand and deepen the collaboration between the ITF and Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) on the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) and the Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN), for the training of 350 Artisans per State on skills in the construction industry.