FG Announces Plan to Start Paying Nigerians to Learn Vocational Skills, Details Emerge
- The federal government will pay students to enroll in vocational schools and provide financial incentives to master craftspersons for hands-on training
- A nationwide monitoring system will ensure quality training, while trainees will receive entrepreneurial grants to support self-sufficiency
- President Bola Tinubu has directed collaboration with the Bank of Industry to provide single-digit credit loans for vocational trainees
The federal government plans to introduce financial incentives for students enrolling in technical and vocational schools as part of efforts to bridge Nigeria’s human capacity gaps and stimulate economic growth.
This announcement was made by Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
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Training aims to reduce unemployment
Vocational schools in Nigeria provide practical training for direct employment, entrepreneurship, or further technical education.
These institutions, regulated by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), offer certifications in various fields, including carpentry, welding, electrical installation, plumbing, ICT, and fashion design.
Alausa outlined a four-step strategy to enhance vocational education enrolment, noting monetary incentives for students, funding for institutions, and hands-on training facilitated by industry professionals.
Trainees to be financially rewarded
According to him, students will receive stipends while training, and master craftspersons from different industries will mentor trainees and receive payments for each student under their supervision.
“In the UK or the US today, a plumber earns more than a doctor,” Alausa noted.
Detailing the government’s approach, Alausa stated, “We would pay students to go to those schools. We’ve modelled how much we’re going to pay them when we roll the programme out. We’ll be announcing that soon. What we will be doing with technical education will be 20% didactic and 80% hands-on training. We’re pre-qualifying the master craft persons from large industries to medium-sized industries and small industries.”
He further explained that the government will collaborate with these industries, ensuring they provide practical training to students.
“We’ll ask you how many students can you train, 10 students? We’ll give you 10 students, and we’ll pay you for each of them every month. We will also implement a nationwide monitoring system to ensure quality training and positive learning outcomes,” the minister added.
Local supervisors to be assigned to each LG
To strengthen accountability, Alausa revealed that 774 performance monitoring officers would be recruited, one for each local government, to oversee vocational training standards.
Additionally, entrepreneurial grants will be provided to trainees upon completing their programs to encourage self-sufficiency and business creation.
The education ministry has also developed a framework categorizing vocational education into skill training centres, vocational enterprise institutes, and state/federal technical colleges. These centres will offer six-month training programs tailored for school dropouts and individuals without formal education.
“You’ll have six months of training there, and we’ve been very careful and deliberate in the kind of skills we will be training at these schools. We’ve done a labour gap analysis to see what skills are needed. We’re also incorporating new emerging skill sets,” Alausa said.
FG announces Next GEN RESCO programme to train youths
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigerian graduates had been invited to apply for the NextGEN RESCO Program, launched by the Ecological Innovation Empowerment Initiative (EIEI) in collaboration with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN).
According to a statement on the REA website, the 12-month programme aims to nurture a new generation of skilled professionals in Nigeria’s renewable energy sector.
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Source: Legit.ng
