About 960,000 Nigerian youths are set to undergo technical and vocational skills training under the Federal Ministry of Education’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative after verification. 

It noted the verification process was designed to prevent fraud. 

The government said that over 250,000 trainees are currently enrolled in the first cohort, undergoing hands-on training across 2,600 centres nationwide.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during an inspection visit to selected TVET partner centres which included AFS Vocational Hub in Garki and Golden Finger Farms and Ranches Limited along the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway, Dei-Dei, Abuja yesterday. 

Alausa described the programme as a clear demonstration of the power of political will behind government intervention.

He said: “From when we started conceiving this TVET initiative eight months ago, to now seeing the first quarter of students being trained, it shows what is possible when there’s commitment. We took our time to curate the way this vocational training would be done.

“We didn’t want this to be another era of scams. Every single one of the 960,000 youths was verified using their NIN and BVN. We are paying the training centres and the vocational institutes directly.”

The minister said the ministry identified about 86 trades across the country but narrowed them down to 28 key skill areas, including fashion and garment making, livestock production, GSM repair, plumbing, tiling, and farming.

He added: “We created a curriculum that is 90 percent practical and 10 percent theoretical. After developing it, we opened the portal to the nation. Within the first 10 days, almost 1.3 million people applied. We had to close it quickly. Out of the 1.3 million applicants, 960,000 youths were verified on the portal.”

Alausa noted that the initiative reflects President Bola Tinubu’s belief in empowering young Nigerians with employable skills.

He said: “This president believes that the youth are the heartbeat of this nation. He is determined to give them the skills and opportunities they need to thrive. When he makes promises, he ensures those promises are fulfilled.”

He added that beyond skills acquisition, trainees would receive starter packs and grants to support their entrepreneurial journey.

The minister said: “We don’t want them to remain job seekers; we want them to become employers of labour. Many of these trainees are graduates from universities and polytechnics, but now they’re getting real-life skills that will make them useful to themselves, their communities, and the nation.”

He said that the training will run for six months at skills centres, 12 months at Vocational Enterprise Institutes, and up to three years in federal and state technical colleges.

He reaffirmed that the TVET programme is operational in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.