>
By Emmanuel Adeleke
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, has disclosed that the Federal Government will create national job centres to match available vacancies in industries and businesses with the available talent pool.
The minister made the disclosure in a statement issued by Deputy Director, Press and Information in the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Suleiman Haruna, on Friday.
Uzoka-Anite said the job centres to be located across the country would train and equip Nigerians to be job-ready.
She explained that it would play a key role in the delivery of President Bola Tinubu’s eight-point agenda for economic growth and job creation, access to capital, improving the playing field on which people, particularly companies operate, and ending poverty.
“One such initiative is the Skill-Up Artisans programme led by our parastatal, the Industrial Training Fund. The programme will empower artisans with tech-enabled skills training, licensing, access to essential toolkits, and promoting industry-standard excellence.
“Several initiatives target reforms in the commodity trading landscape, fostering better outcomes for farmers and miners. Upgrading NCX operations, robust outreach programmes, and establishing a national job centre are among the efforts underway. Notably, the Skill-UP Artisans Programme (SUPA) aims to empower 10 million artisans with tech-enabled skills and industry-standard certifications, addressing skills gaps and reducing reliance on labor imports.
“SUPA addresses the skills deficiency among artisans and standardises artisanal practice. The programme ensures the availability of a skilled workforce for domestic industries, thereby reducing labour import dependency.
“Over two years, the programme aims to empower 10 million hard-working Nigerians, and reflects the government’s commitment to promoting economic development and improving citizens’ standard of living, and job creation,” she said.
The minister added that “in furtherance of job-creation, skills development and talent exports, we launched the NATEP – to create one million jobs including talent exchange/export, business process outsourcing, and job outsourcing.”