ITF empowers 300 youths with start-up packs

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) on Monday gave start-up packs to 300 youths who graduated from its skills acquisition programme.
Presenting the packs to the beneficiaries of the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) in Abuja, Director-General of the Fund, Mr Joseph Ari, said the gesture was a step further from just training the youths.
He said that the youths were from Federal Capital Territory, adding that it was not enough to train and equip them with knowledge and technical skills without providing enablement to them ply acquired trades.
“Today’s event marks a watershed in our implementation of the NISDP as we have taken a step further from merely training and equipping youths with knowledge and technical skills.
“We are also providing them with start-up packs to enable them set-up their businesses and hit the ground running.
“This decision was informed by our tracking and monitoring of trainees of earlier phases, which revealed that where they were supported with start-up packs, 90 per cent became successful entrepreneurs,’’ Ari said.
He said that the phase of the programme would benefit more than 11,000 trainees across the 36 States and the FCT.
He commended governors of some states, who provided start-up packs for trainees in their states and urged others to emulate them.
“It is in this light that I will especially commend the governors that have so far equipped trainees in their states with start-up packs.
“We want to urge all state governments and other stakeholders to follow the example of their colleagues if the objectives of empowering their citizens with skill acquisition will meet the expected objective,’’ Ari said.
He said the youths were trained for three months in tailoring and fashion design, welding and fabrication and plumbing and pipe-fitting.
Ari advised them not to sell any of the items, saying that it cost the fund several millions of naira to procure the start-up packs.
He said that the trades and crafts were chosen based on projected value to the beneficiaries and their potential to provide sustainable means of livelihood for the trainees on graduation.
The Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, advised the youths to use the start-up packs to better their lives and be employers of labour.
Abubakar urged them to always seek help when the need arose from the fund in order to have proper business plan.
“If you have any problem in your business, always return to ITF to seek help,’’ she said.
Some of the grauduands who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria said three months were not enough for the training.
One of them, Miss Dachung Mafeng, said that some people learned faster than the others and urged the fund to add more time for the training.
Mafeng assured that she would utilise the start-up packs to establish her tailoring centre “no matter how little it might be’’.
“I will improve myself with time because the three months is not enough but I learnt something that will help me to start,’’ she said.