“Many vacancies filled by foreigners in Nigeria worrisome” – ITF DG

Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari has described as a worrisome development, the filling of many vacancies in some sectors of the economy by persons other than Nigerians.

Speaking at the commencement of a training programme  for 500 youths under the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) in Gombe State, the ITF D-G who was represented by the Director, Technical and Vocational skills, Engineer Ishaku Shehu, said the situation exists because of the lack of requisite technical skills by Nigerians.

According to him, “what is perhaps most worrisome is the fact that despite the number of Nigerians without work, several surveys including those conducted by the ITF have revealed that vacancies exist in some sectors of the economy that are currently being filled by persons other than Nigerians because of the lack of requisite technical skills by our people”.

He stated that it was in view of this that the ITF conceived the NISDP which he added was aimed at instilling skills in our teaming population, particularly young women and men so as to escalate economic recovery and growth.

Acting Governor of Gombe State, Mr. Charles Iliya, commended ITF for including Gombe State amongst the eighteen States selected for in the first phase of the programme.

He enjoined the trainees to consider themselves lucky for being selected as beneficiaries of the programme and urged them to take the training seriously.

Speaking earlier, the Gombe State Commissioner for Youth Empowerment, Mallam Farouk Yarma said the youths will trained in trades such as carpentry, cosmetology, Fashion Design, Hair Dressing, Computer maintenance, Tailoring, Building, Domestic Electricity among many others.

 He said the State Government is supporting the programme with the sum of N7.5 million so as to increase the take home monthly allowance of the beneficiaries from N5, 000 to N10, 000 for the three months duration of the programme.