The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), said on Monday that it would partner with the Katsina State Government to promote technical and vocational skills.
The Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, stated this when officials of Katsina state government, led by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovations, visited him in Kaduna.
Bugaje said the promotion of technical and vocational skills would be in line with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
He explained that the NSQF was a system for the development, classification and recognition of skills, knowledge and competence acquired by individuals, irrespective of where and how the training or skill was acquired.
Bugaje added that the NSQF was a global industrial-driven vocational skills training approach,designed to meet the needs of industries for industrial growth and economic development.
He said that certification, if acquired, would enable a person work in any part of the world, given the high demand for certified skill labour across the world.
The executive secretary said that the board would soon visit the state to discuss with relevant stakeholders on how to formalise skills training in the state in line with NSQF.
He described skills as a “global currency” in the labour market, stressing that “Vocational skills is what Nigeria need to transform its economy to greater heights.”
“This is why I made skills agenda my priority as the executive secretary of the NBTE. If we can get this right, we will empower the Nigerian youth and resolve the problem of unemployment.
“In the long run, Nigeria, given its high proportion of the youth population, will become a source of skilled manpower in the world,” he said.
Bugaje urged state governments to increase investment in technical and vocational training to reposition the skills sector needed to drive the economy.
He said that the Board planned to establish six Zonal Offices to effectively monitor the 671 technical and vocational training institutions, thereby encouraging acquisition of vocational skills in the country.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Mr Yusuf Muazu, had explained that they were in Bugaje’s office to present to him, a congratulatory letter from the Katsina State Government following his appointment to head the NBTE.
Muazu added that the visit was equally to discuss areas of collaboration on technical and vocational training.
He said that the state government was doing a lot but needed to do more so that the efforts would add value to the youths in the state.
He stated that there were technical schools and tertiary institutions involved in technical and vocational skills training, as well as a scrap village providing informal technical training.
He explained that collaboration with NBTE will enable the state align its technical and vocational training to the NSQF. (NAN)
