He revealed that a bill to strengthen the National Council on Skills would soon be forwarded to the National Assembly to harmonise the activities of stakeholders across the skills development ecosystem.
Highlighting Kaduna’s own initiatives, the governor disclosed that the state had established specialised institutes to empower thousands of youths with employable skills.
“Only a few months ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu commissioned skill institutes in Kaduna. We have about two other branches in the two senatorial zones. As we speak, we have admitted about 32,000 students who will receive training and certification under the Nigeria Skills Qualification Framework,” he added.
The Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, stressed that the Federal Government is reforming the curriculum to make skills central to learning.
“At the front and centre is about skills now in the country. This is what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has promised the nation. The youth are the future of this nation, and he is committed to giving them all the opportunities to excel and live a decent life,” Alausa said.
He explained that a new skills-focused curriculum had been introduced to meet Nigeria’s needs, covering areas such as fashion and garment making, livestock farming, computer and GSM hardware repair, among others. He also announced that the T-BED initiative would soon commence with the first cohort of 200,000 participants selected from nearly one million registrants.
The Minister of State for Labour, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, said the programme aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda and is designed to mainstream skills training from an early age while offering opportunities to graduates and job seekers.
“People have to go back to basics. Start from nursery and primary school to learn skills. And then, when they graduate, the labour ministry takes over to support those who want to be skilled further. Nigerians will grow with skills, and that will reduce the burden of unemployment,” Onyejeocha said.
She emphasised that the programme creates opportunities for all Nigerian youths, women, and the elderly and is expected to transform the labour market in the coming years.