As the federal government continues to make efforts towards tackling rising unemployment in the country, the strategies proffered by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) have taken the centre stage, with stakeholders converging in Abuja to take a critical look at the strategies with a view to implementing them.
Disclosing this to the press in Jos Friday, the Head, Public Affairs, ITF, Mrs. Suleyol Fred Chagu, said that the federal government has convened a stakeholders’ forum that will articulate strategies for job creation.
“The meeting that will take place in Abuja on Monday, 27th May, 2019, will be chaired by the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah.
“The one-day event is expected to attract participants from over 60 public and private sector organisations, who will consider and subject to critical review a report by the ITF strategies on job creation, which was produced by the Fund at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment,” Mrs Chagu said.
She added that the report, which focuses on four sectors of the economy namely agriculture, construction, transport and services sectors, deemed to have the greatest potential for job creation, projects that about 15 million direct and indirect jobs will be created if the ITF proposals are fully implemented.
According to her, “Highlights of the report indicates that in the area of agriculture, which is the major pre-occupation of Nigerians and a key focus of the Next Level Agenda of the federal government, a significant number of direct and indirect jobs will be created along the agricultural value chain through the implementation of the following programmes: the Vegetable Value Vantage (TRIPLE V), Livestock Production (LIPRO) and Women Driven Agricultural Mechanization Programme (WODAMP).
“In the Construction and Services sectors, over hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs will be created for Nigerians using the Mass Housing Development Projects (MAHODEP) and Rural Transportation Empowerment Programme (RUTEP), the Mega City Travel – Rail Based (MECIT-RB) and Mega City Travel–Bus Based (MECIT-BB) initiatives the Infrastructural Maintenance of Government Structures (IMOGS) in the transport sector.
And in the services sector using Auto-Diagnostics and Services (ADASE), Environmental Waste Management (EWAM), Renewable Energy Services (RES), Creative Arts and Digital Media Programme (CADMEP) and Service Hubs (SE-HUB).”
She assured Nigerians that with the mix of technocrats and captains of industry that will be in attendance, the federal government expects that what emerges from the meeting will lead to tangible and effective solutions to the employment problem in Nigeria.
Source: THISDAY
