The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) on Tuesday kicked off the screening exercise for its annual Skill-Up Artisans Programme (SUPA), with over 3,000 participants already captured in Lagos.
The exercise aims to equip artisans with free technical training, internationally recognised certification, and job placement support across various trades, including plumbing, tailoring, and others.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Hassan Sauman of the Technical Vocational Skills Training Development Department at ITF said the programme is part of the strategies to actualise the transformation agenda of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
Sauman stated that the core objective of the SUPA programme is to add value by upskilling artisans in their respective trades to international standards.
He noted that qualifying participants will receive structured vocational training, industry-standard certification, toolkits, and other support.
“The programme spans dozens of sectors, including garment making, tiling, plumbing, welding, automobile repair, crop production, domestic electrical installations, and scaffolding,” he said.
“We rolled out the portal for registration. They have registered, and we are here to interview and verify that they are genuine artisans.
“The SUPA programme is completely free. If anybody asks you to pay any money, please let us know so we can deal with the person accordingly.
“As I said earlier, the SUPA programme has three main objectives. First is to upskill artisans to global standards through training so they can compete globally.
“Secondly, participants will be exposed to international certification, which means they can practise anywhere in the world,” he added.
Sauman said the ITF also plans to collaborate with other institutions to secure job placements for the trained artisans.
He added that one of the major objectives of the programme is for the Federal Government to create a database of artisans that can be used to track their progress.
At the end of the training, ITF will link beneficiaries to both local and international markets.
The training is expected to last for three months. ITF collaborates with various certification bodies, both locally and internationally.
“Our 2025 graduates sat for the Turkish exam, which was administered here by Turkish officials. They were certified, meaning they are qualified to practise anywhere in the world.
“It is a world-recognised certification. Wherever they go, they will be recognised as qualified professionals in their trade,” he said.
Mr. Tijani Kabiru, a trainee and artisan in the hospitality industry, said that enhanced skills among artisans would improve the economic standard of the country.
“There are many artisans in Nigeria, but they lack the financial support to meet international standards. That is why the Federal Government initiated this programme.
“With this, the youth will have more opportunities to engage and improve themselves,” he said.
Another trainee, Mrs. Olabisi Adetoro, who has been practising tailoring for over 14 years, said she was ready to upgrade her skills.
“This training will give me more advantage in finishing and special packaging skills for better competitiveness,” Adetoro said.
