The Federal Government has promised to train about 960,000 Nigerian youths in technical and vocational skills.
The training is to be held under its Ministry of Education’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative after verification.
The government explained that the verification was designed to prevent fraud. It said over 250,000 trainees are currently enrolled in the first cohort, undergoing hands-on training across 2,600 centres nationwide.
Education Minister Tunji Alausa announced the programme yesterday during an inspection visit to selected TVET partner centres, including AFS Vocational Hub in Garki and Golden Finger Farms and Ranches Limited on the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway, Dei-Dei, both in Abuja.
Alausa described the programme as a clear demonstration of the power of political will behind government intervention.
He said: “From when we started conceiving this TVET initiative eight months ago to now seeing the first quarter of students being trained, it shows what is possible when there’s commitment. We took our time to curate the way this vocational training would be done. “We didn’t want this to be another era of scams. Every single one of the 960,000 youths was verified, using their NIN and BVN. We are paying the training centres and the vocational institutes directly.”
Alausa said the ministry identified about 86 trades across the country but narrowed them down to 28 key skill areas, including fashion and garment making, livestock production, GSM repair, plumbing, tiling, and farming.
He added: “We created a curriculum that is 90 per cent practical and 10 per cent theoretical. After developing it, we opened the portal to the nation. Within the first 10 days, almost 1.3 million people applied. We had to close it quickly. Out of the 1.3 million applicants, 960,000 youths were verified on the portal.”
Alausa noted that the initiative reflected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s belief in empowering young Nigerians with employable skills.
He said: “This President believes that the youth are the heartbeat of this nation. He is determined to give them the skills and opportunities they need to thrive. When he makes promises, he ensures those promises are fulfilled.”
The minister stressed that beyond skills acquisition, trainees would receive starter packs and grants to support their entrepreneurial journey.
Alausa added: “We don’t want them to remain job seekers; we want them to become employers of labour. Many of these trainees are graduates from universities and polytechnics, but now they’re getting real-life skills that will make them useful to themselves, their communities, and the nation.”
The minister stated that the training would run for six months at skills centres, 12 months at vocational enterprise institutes, and up to three years in federal and state technical colleges.
He reaffirmed that the TVET programme is operational in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
