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The Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya A’isha Abubakar, on Tuesday reiterated Federal Government’s commitment to facilitate viable partnerships and policies on employment generation in the country.
Abubakar stated this at the commencement of Community Focal Programme part of Google Digital Skill Training for 1,000 youths enrolled in Sokoto State.
She said the programme was designed to enhance the capabilities of job seekers through digital means in recognition of importance of Information Technology dominance in all aspects.
She said the collective target for this wave of training was to reach out to 500,000 Nigerians in the next 12
months and to triple that number over the next five years.
“This will be achieved working together with parastatals under our Ministry such as
SMEDAN, SON, ITF, BOI and others like NITDA and NOTAP.
“We projected training 1000 youths over the next three (3) training days, but I am told that we have over 1,600 registered on the portal within just a few days theirs opening,” the minister said.
She said the event was aimed at enhancing employability of job seekers
and the growth of small enterprises, who were keen to join the digital world by improving their skills.
She commend Google, Mind the Gap, D9 Consulting, Usmanu Danfodio
University and other stakeholders for organising the event.
“Over 50 million Nigerians are connected online and lacked necessary expertise, thereby needed optimum skills to tap the the opportunities it provided.
“Google should accord Sokoto State with enhanced connectivity platforms for people to access recent upgraded services for job creation and social engagements,” the minister said.
She called on Nigerian youths to utilise empowerment training platforms for productive engagements.
She further cautioned youths against fake news and other cyber crimes noting that the programme solely aimed at capacity building.
Abubakar added that relevant government agencies were positioned to ensure actualisation of the project and commended Google and other partners.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, urged community groups and institutions to sensitise people to the importance of the programme.
Abubakar, who was represented by Ubandoman Sabonbirni, Alhaji Malami Shehu, commended the organisers and assured maximum traditional rulers’ support and cautioned people against misusing the skills.
The Vice Chancellor of Usmanu Danfodio University, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, said the university had enough facilities to support the programme.
Zuru, represented by Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics, Prof. Atiku Yahya, commended the organisers for selecting the university on hosting the programme and urged the beneficiaries to sustain the skills.
Mr Emmanuel Abiodun from Google, said the programme was started in 2016 on how to use internet to develop knowledge targeted 1 million people but at present increased to 10 million.
Abiodun said out of 1 million people started 450 are from Nigeria in first 12 months, noting that different government agencies had been engaged in the execution of the programme.
Edited by: Abdullahi Yusuf
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday said that Zimbabwe remained committed
to regional integration and urged participants at an International Trade Fair (ITF) to tap into the businessopportunities available in the country.
In a welcome message to the participants, Mnangagwa said ITF remained an important platform for the country to
promote trade and investment.
“Zimbabwe remains committed to regional integration under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa,
the Southern African Development Community and the African Union, among other bilateral and regional
trading arrangements,” he said.
He urged industry and commerce to remain resolute and expand operations while exploring export opportunities
in the region and beyond.
The trade fair, which began Tuesday and ends Saturday, is running under the theme “Sustainable Industrial Development:
Inclusive-Competitive-Collaborative”.
Chinese companies, together with others from Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Brazil, Japan, Kenya, Malawi,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey and Zambia, are exhibiting at the fair.
“Attracting both domestic and foreign investments, mobilising funding for industrial development, supporting
the agriculture and mining sectors, and infrastructure development, are key priority areas of focus expected
to help attain sustained economic growth and development,” Mnangagwa said.
The tradefair remains one of the biggest trade fairs in Africa south of the Sahara.
SH
Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo says investment in vocational education is fundamental to job creation and industrialisation of the state as well as the country as oil revenue continues to dwindle.
Obaseki said this on Tuesday when he received donations made by the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) in collaboration with the Industrial Training Funds (ITF), at Government Science Technical College, Benin.
He commended the organisations for the donating electrical equipment and tools to the technical college.
According to him, no country can grow industrially with `paper certificate’ alone; it must have technical skills to make the needed difference.
The governor noted that most industrialised countries had in their workforces, people with vocational training who might not be university graduates.
He said that plans were underway to set up three or five megawatts of power on the Government Science Technical College premises for its light industrial park to ensure constant electricity supply.
The governor gave the assurance that the donated items would be judiciously utilised.
Earlier, the Director-General of NECA, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo, thanked the state government for emphasising improvement in vocational and technical education.
Oshinowo said that the biggest challenge facing Nigeria was that of unemployment due to lack of technical skills to make youths employable.
He urged that all hands should be on deck to tackle the challenge.
The Principal of the college, Mrs Bose Imafidon, said that the benefitting electrical department was one of 10 departments with highest enrolment.
Imafidon pledged to use the equipment for the intended purpose.
The News Agency og Nigerian reports that the other equipment and tools included desktop monitors, contact voltage regulators, prismatic fluorescent fittings and bundles of cables.
(Edited by: Felix Nwadioha/Ijeoma Popoola)
Tennis players from over 20 countries and regions will vie in the ITF Men’ s Pro Circuit tennis tournament at Indonesia’ s capital of Jakarta from Nov. 28 to Dec. 18.
Mr Wibowo Suseno, the Chairman of Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) said on Monday that among the participating countries are Britain, China, Russia, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Canada, the Netherland, Indonesia and India.
The chairman said in his office that the tournament would provide a total of 30,000 dollars prices.
“Some of Indonesia’s top players will compete with the international opponents in the tournament.
“Among the players are Christopher Rugkat, David Agug Susaato, Aditya Hari Sasongko and Athony Susanto.
“We will give experience to our players by vying with the opponents from more than 20 countries,’’ Suseno added.
Edited by: Oluleye Abiodun/Grace Yussuf
(NAN)
The Industrial Trust Fund (ITF) has expressed its readiness to tackle Nigeria’s economic recession via innovative ideas toward fast tracking its mandate on human capital development.
Mr Joseph Ari, the new ITF Director General made this known, when he assumed duty at ITF headquarters in Jos.
“Economic recession can only be overcome by the ITF mandate of human capital development with the support of key stakeholders in the sector, which countries like Singapore, Germany Brazil, Canada, Brazil and Malaysia adopted through their various agencies similar to ITF,’’ he said.
He urged the management and staff to contribute innovative ideas to revamp and reinvigorate the industrial sector through their experiences, expertise and expansive network.
Ari said that he served as member of various committees in the last political dispensation which fashioned out the blue print of 10 years strategic plan.
He, however, expressed optimism that the fund could make it if the new policies as contained in its amendment Act of 2011 were well harnessed.
Ari said that the expansion of the present structure to the 10 departmental structures, four units and the four-year roadmap of the fund were some of the new policies.
He, therefore, pledged to operate an open door policy where transparency and accessibility would justify the confidence accorded to the organisation by President Muhamadu Buhari.
Earlier in his remarks, Mr Dickson Onouha, the former Acting DG said that ITF was able to restore access to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which was formerly in comatose for almost a year.
Onouha said that the organisation maintained and sustained a healthy relationship with contributing employers with no outstanding reimbursement claims.
He said that the fund had commenced the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) for 500 trainees in 18 states and an additional 600 selected from IDPs camp in Maiduguri, Borno State.
NAN reports that new DG served as the Director of Public Relations, External Affairs and Publicity of ITF, Director of Administration and Human Resources, later moved to Corporate Planning Department, Director and Business Training Development Department.
Edited by: Mohammed Abdullahi/Grace Yussuf)
