VP Shettima Launches Skills, Apprenticeship Initiative

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

In a bid to address persistent challenges facing the informal sector and to advance technological progress in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima, has inaugurated a two-day workshop on skills and apprenticeship development.

The event, organized by the Sub-Saharan African Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network (SASASNET), seeks to lay the foundation for a formalised and effective system of skills training and apprenticeship across the region.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja, Vice President who was represented by the permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Andrew Adejo, emphasised the pressing need to bridge the development gaps in science and technology across the continent.

He emphasised the significance of nurturing highly skilled African talent to fully harness the benefits of modernity.

He said, “The need for this conference is further underscored by the fact that, if Africa is to be the next continent of destination, we can no longer afford to be exporting jobs with its attendant loss of much needed foreign exchange earnings.

“The idea of providing opportunities to exploit and apply the knowledge and benefits of modernity to bridge the development deficits of science and technology on the continent, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, by training and retaining highly qualified Africans goes back to an African Union Heads of State meeting in Burkina Faso in 2001.

“In fact, the speed with which you were able to galvanise action to get to this stage in about five months after the World Bank Regional Workshop in February, 2023 in Cotonou, Benin Republic is very commendable.

“On our part, Nigeria has established a National Council on Skills (NCS) chaired by my humble self and consisting of key stakeholders from government, development partners, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other partners. The NCS is to standardise and formalise the skills and apprenticeship activities in Nigeria.”

“It is pleasing to inform you that the NCS is working towards addressing skills mismatch between the labor market and graduates and harmonising the various policies on skills in Nigeria.

“Furthermore, it has developed a 6-step National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), which It plans to update to 9 steps and is standardising training across all training providers,” he added.

On his part, the Interim Chair, SASASNET, who also doubled as the Executive Secretary, NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, called for collaboration between governments and the organised private sector to unlock the untapped potential of the informal sector, thereby creating a vital source of certified skilled labor for sustainable economic development.

He said, “With this formal launch, SASASNET now embarks on its mission to create a sustainable and vibrant network that will support skills development across the continent.

“The network envisions a future where Africa’s informal sector is recognised, formalised, and harnessed to contribute significantly to the economic turnaround of the continent.”