By Bola Olajuwon
THE United Kingdom (UK) government has announced the launch of Skills for Prosperity Nigeria (S4P-N).
It is a two-year UKAid funded programme that aims to equip youths and vulnerable groups with skills that offer them a more attractive pathway into employment and meet employers needs for a more skilled workforce.
It is a global skills programme funded by the UK government and implemented across nine fast growing economies: Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa and Nigeria.
In Nigeria, S4P-N will support an improved, National Apprenticeship and Training System (NATS), that will help the private sector to meet workforce demands, help youth into decent jobs and ensure these benefits are shared equitably.
The official launch of the S4P-N programme will be held in Abuja, Kaduna and Lagos this month, and will bring key government stakeholders at national and state levels, UK High Commission officials and skills development actors together, to formalise partnerships.
Speaking on the programme, the UK’s Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Ben Llewellyn-Jones said: “The UK has a global reputation for education and skills characterised by excellence and quality. We will support Nigeria to strengthen her skills development systems to produce a more competent technical workforce that increases productivity and economic development.”
In Nigeria, the programme will be delivered through the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), a government agency under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, with a primary goal to institutionalise formal apprenticeships linked to industry, facilitate traineeship opportunities for youth leading to paid employment and improve vocational enterprises for vulnerable women and Persons with Disabilities.
S4P-N will also work collaboratively with other relevant Federal Government agencies, the private sector, state focal agencies and public/private training providers to provide nationally recognised qualifications at level 2 to 5 of the Nigeria Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
