FOR many years, skill acquisition was often pushed to the background, while Western education was highly valued in Nigeria and regarded as the main path to success. However, the current economic reality, which has driven unemployment to unprecedented levels, has compelled both government and individuals to recognise the value of skills acquisition, not only as a viable source of income but also as a vital contributor to national development.
The essence of skill acquisition is as crucial as water to the human body. Increasingly, unemployed youths, particularly graduates, are realising its importance and embracing it as a source of livelihood.
A recent finding by Sunday Tribune showed that many young Nigerians now pursue Western education alongside skill development. Many of them use their compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year to acquire one form of technical or artisanal skill, while some graduates continue after completing service.
For example, visits to mechanics’ workshops and similar sites show a surge in apprenticeship among young boys and girls, including secondary school leavers, a development that reflects the growing zeal for skill development.
From all indications, skill acquisition is critical to addressing unemployment, which has fuelled social vices and the mass migration of Nigerian youths in search of menial jobs abroad.
As part of efforts to stimulate youth interest in skills and address the skilled manpower shortage, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) launched the SUPA programme to increase professionalism and provide trainees with internationally recognised certification. Several training centres have been enlisted under the initiative.
Speaking to Sunday Tribune during an inspection tour of Skill Up Artisan (SUPA) Training Centres organised by the ITF in Jos, Plateau State, an economics graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Hauwa Ibrahim, said she enrolled to learn tailoring after repeated unsuccessful attempts to secure employment.
She explained that after two years of job hunting without success, she realised learning a skill was her best option and decided to pursue it as both a passion and a career path.
During the recent visit to some of the centres in Jos, ITF Director-General, Dr Oluwatoyin Afiz Ogun, said the SUPA programme is designed to transform vocational training in Nigeria and equip artisans with skills to meet modern economic demands.
He stressed that the initiative is not only to bridge the skills gap but also to drive sustainable development and empower the workforce.
He noted that countries like China actively integrate skills into education from an early stage, with a focus on green skills. In line with this, ITF has established the ITF Model School Skill Academy.
Speaking while inspecting the new academy, Dr Ogun said its aim is to inspire young Nigerians in skill development. The programme, he explained, aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s goal of combining formal education with skills training to boost the economy.
He said: ‘The academy will commence in September with pupils from ITF Model School, Jos. Regular school hours will end at 1:30 p.m., after which pupils will be conveyed by bus to the two-hour training daily, with three additional hours at weekends. Initially, it is for JSS 1 and SSS 1 pupils.’
On certification, he explained that trainees will undergo two years of training before sitting for international examinations such as the City and Guilds of London, ensuring global recognition.
‘We will carry their parents along; this is not a case or issue of child labour. When you visit a country like China, this is how they raise their children. We are not discouraging formal education. In the end, they would take both the international test and the WAEC and NECO,’ he said.
The DG added that the academy will be replicated across the six geopolitical zones, adding that students will also receive career guidance from professionals and academics before training begins.
He criticised the inability of Nigerian artisans to work abroad due to a lack of international certification, stressing that every ITF training must now culminate in such certification to prepare graduates for global opportunities.
‘We want Nigeria to become a major exporter of skilled manpower,’ he said, adding that ITF has secured approval from City and Guilds and other global bodies as an exam centre.
During visits to SUPA centres in Jos, Sunday Tribune observed high youth participation, with trainees in IT, mechanics, plumbing, tailoring, hairdressing, welding and other trades, many of them graduates.
A political science graduate, Abdullah Tanko, now training in welding at Solap Technologies, said: ‘I decided to use this training to diversify into something that would give me a consistent income, even though I teach government in secondary school.’
At the Daganel Automobile Mechanic Workshop, trainee Abraham Dauda, who is a roadside mechanic, said certification was his main motivation, adding that he can use it to work anywhere in the world.
‘What I have at the moment is a certificate of learning with no seal of authority. But I was told that following my training here, I will write an examination to be held by City and Guilds of London, which is internationally renowned, meaning that I will be recognised anywhere in the world,’ he said.
Trainer and fashion entrepreneur, Sadia Bayero of Zebah Amani Fashion, said she currently supervises 45 trainees, who will undergo three months of training before sitting for international exams.
She commended ITF and the government for including management and business ethics in the tailoring programme.
The ITF DG, Ogun, also disclosed that a standard workshop has been established at the academy for training in CNG conversion, auto mechanics, and welding.
A former teacher, Albert Ibrahim, commended the government for reviving artisan training.
‘I recall when we were coming up, our parents introduced us to their sources of livelihood or professions. Those whose parents were tailors learned tailoring, blacksmithing, farming, and other skills. We were encouraged to participate in a variety of crafts in both primary and secondary schools. However, these methods of training were eventually abandoned. Thank God, this administration is returning to this in a modernised form,’ he declared.