VAIDS

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

ITF, UNIDO seek establishment of Sector Skills Council in Nigeria



Industrial Training Fund ( ITF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have began a sensitisation meeting for the establishment of Sector Skills Council in the country.
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are employer-led organizations that cover specific industries to support employers in developing and managing apprenticeships standards; to reduce skills gaps and shortages and improve productivity; to boost the skills of their sector workforces and to improve learning supply.


Nigerian youths Acting Director General of ITF, Mr. Dickson Onuoha at a meeting n Abuja yesterday, said SSCs should be established in order to identify and strategise the training requirements in the country. Onuoha noted that for Nigeria to sustain an inclusive and sustainable industrial development, it is imperative for the country to establish the sector skills councils to address the challenges poised by unemployment. “Establishment of SSCs is crucial to the industrialisation and sustainable socio-economic development. This cannot be achieved without the collaboration of all relevant organisations” “Skills gaps cannot be adequately identified without the establishment of functional sector skills councils. 

This is why we are here today. It is important to note that skills development is central to developmental initiatives of any nation. Without adequate planning and effective delivery, resolving employment crises will not be possible while strategic plans will be difficult to implement” “The SSCs will serve as the basis for government’s investment in skills development in Nigeria, since it will assist in identifying skills requirements, skills availability, skills gap and skills mismatches in demand and supply.” He noted that creating employment is imperative in order to address challenges militating against the country’s citizens. 

Occupational standards “SSCs aim to achieve those goals by developing an understanding of the future skills needs in their industry, and contribute to the development of national occupational standards. 

The design and approval of apprenticeship framework and the apprenticeship standards and creating sector qualification strategies.” He stated that involving ITF in funding the Sector Skills Councils is not feasible because as he said, ITF has its mandates to achieve and 50 percent of the one percent training levy goes into running our operations and the remaining 50 per cent is refunded to employers. Mr. Simon Armstrong, Senior Industrial Skills Adviser of UNIDO urged the federal government to harness the potentials of youths by investing in their training. “Most youths in Nigeria have the required qualifications, but lack the relevant skills for sustaining development in Nigeria. It is essential to have these youths trained to acquire the relevant skills.” According to him, skills is the bedrock of every country’s economy, stressing that “UK has 19 sector skills councils; sector skills Councils are also used in South Africa and Singapore to improve skills and occupational standards but Nigeria has none.” “In UK government is funding their operation by spending £1.4 million yearly.

In Nigeria the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, might use the 1 per cent training levy from employers for this purpose and move to become a Skills Funding Agency,” he said. Lending a voice to the SSCs, Executive Secretary of National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Masa’udu Kazaure said the country has all that it takes to establish the SSCs. Kazaure remarked that the federal government can fix the industrial skill gap in the country for sustainable development. Dr. Chuma Ezedinma, National Programme Officer, UNIDO, said that Sector Skills Councils globally are employer- led organisations that covers specific industries in their respective countries and urged OPS Nigeria to drive the establishment of the councils to reduce the skills gaps and shortages and improve productivity and to support employers in developing and managing apprenticeship standards.


By Favour Nnabugwu





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