We’ve Trained over 100,000 Gainfully-employed Nigerians, Says ITF Boss

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

The Director General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Sir Joe Ari has revealed that the agency has trained over 100,000 Nigerians in the last year and half, who are now gainfully employed in different fields and sectors.

He also handed down a stern warning to staff members of the Fund, urging them to eschew indolence, idleness and gossip, as these are not attributes of an institution desirous of being viewed as leaders in their lines of business. He has also directed Supervisors and Managers to clamp down hard on this malaise.

Ari was speaking at the 2017 End of Year Performance Review meeting with the theme, ‘ITF Vision: The Journey so Far’ held in Jos, Plateau State recently.

He said, “One major obstacle to the achievement of our corporate goals and vision, to my mind, is the state of indiscipline, which has refused to change management’s determined and best efforts. In spite of repeated warnings, staff members still stroll to work at their own time and leave whenever they so desire.

“These are not attributes that are associated with institutions desirous of being viewed as leaders in their lines of business. I urge you, therefore, as Supervisors and Managers to clamp down hard on this malaise. I must also stress here that it’s not enough to be punctual to work; we also have to be productive at all times. We must therefore eschew indolence, idleness and gossip, and put all hands on deck in moving the ITF to the next level.”

He however noted that the successes of ITF have permeated through the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, “especially through our flagship programme, the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), and also the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) reimbursement and our direct training services.”
While noting that over 20 million Nigerians have been equipped by the ITF with requisite skills to become self-dependent, Ari observed that no organisation with similar mandate has done so well.

He said, “Today, anywhere conversations veer to skill acquisition, the ITF heartwarmingly comes to mind. The reason for such recall is not far-fetched; in the last year and half, we have trained over 100,000 Nigerians that are today gainfully employed or are successful entrepreneurs through our programmes namely; the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Passion to Profession, Training on Wheels Using Mobile Training Unit, the Women Skills empowerment Programme (WOSEP), the Technical Skill Development Project (TSDP), as well as the Vulnerable and Indigent Youth Empowerment Programme (VIYEP) among several others.
“This is, indeed, a remarkable achievement when weighed against the currents of our operational environment in the time frame the achievement were recorded.”

Ari commended the staff members for the achievement so far, urging them to do more. He said the event was important because it provided them the opportunity to collectively take stock of activities in the preceding year, “subject our approaches to intense scrutiny while projecting and strategising for optimal result in the succeeding year.”
Earlier, Director, Corporate Planning Department, Engr. Peter Agbo, reiterated the need for the meeting to reflect and take stock of performances with a view to critically examine methods and approaches consistent with global best practices and innovation.