Nasarawa Partners ITF to Train Skills Acquisition Institute Instructors

Igbawase Ukumba

The Nasarawa State government yesterday partnered the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to train instructors of the state newly established Vocational and Skills Acquisition Institute, Lafia, which was inaugurated recently by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Consequently, a delegation from the headquarters of the ITF led by the Director General, Mr Joseph Ari, were in the office of the deputy governor of the state to finalise the partnership sequel to a letter by the state government requesting technical support to the newly equipped Vocational and Skills Aquisition Institute.

Addressing the ITF delegation in his office, the deputy governor of the state, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, lamented that the state lacked trained instructors that could handle facilities at the state’s newly established Vocational and Skills Acquisition Institute, Lafia.

This was even as he added that even if the state did have the instructors, he didn’t think that their knowledge was current to handle some of the machines installed at the institute by the state government.

He said: “For the training of instructors you (ITF) have promised you would do, we need to get appropriate instructors for that place. Looking around, I don’t think we have our own trained instructors that can handle the facilities at the centre.

“Even if we do have, I don’t think that their knowledge is current to handle some of the machines we have there. So, it is an opportunity for us to get those instructors and update their knowledge so that they can come and impact that knowledge,” Akabe maintained.

In a remark, the DG of the ITF, Joseph Ari said the training fund was in collaboration with Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and have agreed that Nasarawa State Skills Acquisition Centre be placed on the map immediately.

“We have agreed that the Nasarawa State Skills Acquisition Centre will be part of the 24 participating organizations under the technical skills development project of that project.

“Also, the ITF is willing to partner with the state government to train the instructors and see how we can develop a meaningful curriculum at our Modest Skills Training Centre in Abuja,” Ari stated.