Minister of State for Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike

Ifeanyi Konyehi

The Federal Government has started the process of establishing new vocational and technical education centres across the country for purpose of creating employment for Nigerian youths.

Minister of State for Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, who disclosed this at a meeting with officials of Portsmouth Highbury College, United Kingdom, in Abuja Tuesday, said the new vocational training centres would be used as practical platforms to groom a viable workforce to develop the economy of the nation.

He said the new vocational and technical centres will train Nigerian youths in line with the employment needs of existing companies.

“We are partnering Portsmouth Highbury College to develop these new vocational and technical colleges across the country because of the expertise of this school. We have been to the various campuses of the school in the United Kingdom and we are convinced that this partnership will achieve the desired result.

“We are further committed to capacity building for our existing technical and vocational teachers to assist us achieve the goals of practically training our children to make them employers of labour, instead of job seekers,” Wike said.

He said the Jonathan administration remains committed to using education as a tool to fast tracking the economic empowerment of the citizenry.

Responding, the Principal and Chief Executive of Highbury College, Stella Mbubaegbu, assured the ministry that the school would deliver functional vocational and technical centres to train Nigerian youths in marketable skills.

She noted that the school as technical partners of the Federal Government has developed a framework of centres of vocational and technical education which will drive employment.

Also speaking, the Acting Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission, Prof. Charles Onocha, said the commission will work with the technical partners to achieve the set objectives of the Federal Government.