The Federal Government has launched a nationwide vocational and skills acquisition program that will train more than 18,000 artisans and unemployed Nigerians, with participants set to begin training on Tuesday at 229 accredited centers across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The initiative, implemented by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), is designed to equip participants with vocational skills, entrepreneurship training and trade-specific starter packs to promote self-employment, create sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty.
Speaking at the programme’s inauguration in Abuja, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, said the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda of moving vulnerable Nigerians from dependency to economic self-reliance.
According to the minister, the programme is expected to empower more than 18,000 Nigerians by equipping them with practical skills and tools that will enable them to establish businesses and improve their incomes.
Doro explained that the two-week training targets individuals who already possess basic vocational knowledge but require additional technical training to become more productive and competitive.
He added that beneficiaries would receive trade-specific tools after completing the programme to help them immediately begin their businesses.
The minister also disclosed that the government has introduced a robust monitoring and evaluation framework, including a digital tracking system that will monitor beneficiaries and the starter packs distributed under the programme.
NSIPA National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Badamasi Lawal, said the training will be delivered through accredited government technical colleges, vocational institutions and approved training centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Participants will receive training in 14 vocational trades, including agriculture, automobile technology, fashion design, baking and confectionery, carpentry, catering, electrical installation, plumbing, welding, masonry, hospitality, jewellery making, grinding machine operations and vulcanising.
In addition to technical training, beneficiaries will undergo entrepreneurship development courses covering business management, financial literacy, digital literacy, customer relations and business sustainability.
Lawal said successful participants would receive trade-specific starter packs to enable them to launch their businesses immediately after the training.
He explained that beneficiaries were selected through an inclusive process involving the National Assembly, state governments, traditional rulers, religious leaders, community associations, youth and women groups, persons with disabilities and other stakeholders.
Priority, he said, was given to unemployed youths, women, vulnerable groups and economically disadvantaged Nigerians with the potential to build sustainable livelihoods.
Lawal noted that the initiative will also ensure the productive use of thousands of vocational starter packs that had remained unused in government warehouses due to administrative and operational delays.
Rather than allowing the equipment to deteriorate further, the Federal Government approved their refurbishment and distribution to qualified beneficiaries after practical training.
He warned participants against selling the starter packs, stressing that all distributed equipment will be digitally tracked to ensure they are used for their intended purpose.