The Jos area office of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) says it has trained 146 youths in various skills on the Plateau.

Wilfred Mukan, the area manager, ITF Jos Area Office, said this on Friday during the graduation ceremony of the 146, who were trained for three months.

Mr Mukan said the training was done under the fund’s platform of the National Economic Recovery Growth Programme (NERGP) in Plateau State.

He said the NERGP programme, under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) component, sought to provide Nigerians with skills and knowledge under the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) framework, thereby making them employable.

The official said the 146 were trained in six trade areas, namely plumbing and pipe fitting, carpentry, tiling, poultry farming, crop production and beauty care.

He explained that the trained 146 underwent two months of practical and hands-on training and one month of internship to practicalise what they learnt.

Mr Mukan said they were also taken through the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) to get the knowledge needed to start their businesses.

He added, “They have been assessed and appropriate certification issued to them to enhance their participation in the country’s economic space.”

The area manager said all the trainees would be given free start-up packs relevant to their training field to ensure smooth take-off of their business activities.

In his remarks, Afiz Ogun, the Director-general of ITF, tasked the beneficiaries to ensure that they made the best use of the skills acquired.

Mr Ogun, represented by Ibrahim Yusuf, the fund’s acting director for Technical, Vocational Skills Training Department, urged the trainees to cascade the skills learnt to others who would also be empowered via their skills.

He cautioned the trainees against selling the start-up packs given to them.

Victoria Gyang, one of the beneficiaries of the training, told journalists that she was trained in plumbing and pipe fitting and commended the fund.

Ms Gyang said she was a stay-at-home mother and unemployed, but the training had made her self-reliant and, in the near future, an employer of labour.

(NAN)