The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), says it is institutionalising the culture of quality skills development in the country’s formal and informal sector for economic growth.
The board’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje said this in a statement issued in Kaduna on Tuesday.
Bugaje spoke in Lagos at the second training of External Quality Assurance Managers (EQAM), for the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
According to him, the board has refocused its attention on skills development.
He said that the training, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) was being supported by the NBTE to bridge the EQAM gap which currently stood at less than 30 across the country.
“This is grossly inadequate for the institutionalisation of the NSQF training, especially at a time when the world is looking to skills as the new currency of labour,” he said.
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 skills was acquired.
Bugaje said that the EQAM were responsible for assessing the quality of training provided on behalf of the awarding institution and determining if due process was followed before a qualification would be awarded.
“The delivery of the NSQF largely depends on qualified and competent human resources since a substantial part of the vocational skills training and assessment takes place at the work environment.
“This implies that we need more of this type of training to cover the large population of our youths looking for quality.
“This training is, therefore, very important to both NBTE and the building industry to build the nation’s skills economy through the production of critical arrowheads in the quality assurance system,” Bugaje said.
He urged the participants to take the training very seriously, adding that their status and integrity as quality assurance managers would make the delivery of the National Skills Qualifications (NSQs) in Nigeria very successful.
Bugaje identified NIOB as one of the foremost partners in the implementation of the NSQF, adding that the institute had trained most of the NSQs in the construction industry.
“Your effort is highly appreciated, and we hope that other stakeholders will also emulate your proactive gesture,” he said. (NAN)
