15,000 residents in Nasarawa state begin screening for skills training
Amina Mohammed, Lafia
The Federal Government (FG)) under project TVET Maximization (T-MAX) has begun the screening of over 15, 000 applicants in Nasarawa State to be equipped with various skills as part of a commitment to lift 100 million people out of poverty.
The screening exercise for the applicants took place at various centers on Wednesday in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Speaking at the commencement of the exercise, Nasarawa State Area Manager of Industrial Training Fund (ITF), implementing partners, Phobe Kasim, said 15, 000 applicants were selected out of the over 80 thousand persons that have applied.
“The screening exercise is going on in many centers and 2, 000 persons will be selected for this phase of the program.
“Those selected at the end of the screening exercise will be trained in areas such as; Web development, animation, mobile development, graphic design, and cyber security.
“Others are; coding, beauty care, cosmetology, leather works, tailoring, ICT, solar installation, building and construction, plumbing and fittings, among others,” she added.
The ITF Area Manager explained that the training would be intensive and practical, after which the trainees would be given starter packs to set up their businesses and employ others.
She also said that the trainees would be given some stipends to take care of their transportation while the program lasts.
The state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, lauded the Federal Government for the initiative aimed at poverty reduction in the country.
Sule, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Muhammad Aliyu-Ubandoma, said that the project was in line with the aspiration of the state government on youth empowerment and skills acquisition.
He pointed out that the state government has provided all necessary laboratories in the various vocational skills training centers in the state that would ensure the success of the program.
The governor maintained that youth empowerment through skills acquisition for self-reliance was critical to addressing criminality and restiveness.
Favour Yarmark and Samuel Sunday, participants who spoke to journalists, lauded the FG and Nasarawa State Government for the opportunity to learn skills that would make them self-reliant.
The duo expressed optimism that they would be selected at the end of the screening exercise to benefit from the laudable training exercise.
Voice of Nigeria recalls that Mr. Fela Bank-Olemoh, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Education Interventions on Sep. 6, 2022, launched the T-MAX project in Nasarawa State.
The SSA to the President during the launch said the project being piloted in seven states to train 15,000 citizens is one of the core interventions to achieve the Federal Government’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030.
