The Federal Government has equipped 38 federal and state technical colleges to expand access to free vocational training, with beneficiaries entitled to monthly stipends and starter packs to help them establish businesses after graduation.

The National Project Coordinator of the Innovation Development for Effective Acquisition of Skills Project, Mrs Blessing Ogwu, disclosed this during an inspection of the IDEAS Project Centre at the Federal Science and Technical College, Orozo, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Ogwu said the Federal Government, with support from the World Bank, had equipped 20 federal and 18 state technical colleges to strengthen practical skills acquisition and improve employment opportunities for young Nigerians.

She said the investment reflected the government’s commitment to repositioning technical and vocational education and equipping young people with marketable skills.

“The Federal Government is interested in TVET education. That is why we have about 38 technical colleges that the Federal Government has funded and equipped like this, all to enhance skills,” she said.

According to her, the institutions provide opportunities for both formal and informal skills training, with FSTC Orozo serving as the designated federal technical college for the Federal Capital Territory.

Ogwu expressed confidence that the free technical education programme would continue under the current administration, urging Nigerians to support its sustainability.

Also speaking, the National Project Monitoring Officer in the Minister’s Office at the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Olatunji Odewunmi, said the country had more than 1,000 TVET centres, including about 140 skills training centres in the FCT.

He described the IDEAS Project and the Federal Government’s TVET initiative as complementary interventions to expand access to practical skills training nationwide.

Odewunmi said the programme was entirely free, with the government covering tuition, training fees, instructional materials and other essential needs, including accommodation for beneficiaries in boarding facilities.

He added that trainees received monthly stipends and would be given starter packs to establish businesses after completing their training.

“Every one of them will get a starter pack even before the end of the training. By the day they graduate, they can go home with it,” he said.

On measures to ensure discipline and commitment, Odewunmi said biometric attendance monitoring had been introduced, adding that trainees who failed to meet the required attendance threshold would lose their stipends and eligibility for starter packs.

He said monitoring officers also visited the centres regularly to assess training activities and ensure proper utilisation of government resources.

The Principal of FSTC Orozo, Dr Stella Uhuegbu, said the college had adopted a training structure that prioritised practical experience in line with the revised Federal Government TVET curriculum.

She said the curriculum prescribed a 70 per cent practical and 30 per cent theoretical training ratio, adding that the college had provided instructional materials, equipment and technical instructors to meet the requirement.

According to her, the college has more than 1,000 regular students, while its six-month short-term skills programme accommodates over 1,000 trainees across five trades.

The trades include information and communication technology, automobile mechanics, auto-electrical repairs, catering, garment making and GSM repairs.

Uhuegbu described the IDEAS Project as critical to the success of the TVET programme, saying the newly constructed and equipped workshops had strengthened the college’s capacity to deliver practical training.

“All the workshops you are seeing here were newly built and well equipped. The essence is to ensure that the skills training aspect of the TVET initiative is achieved because, without the workshops and equipment, we cannot effectively impact skills on the trainees,” she said.

She added that trainees would receive certificates upon graduation, along with starter packs to help them establish their businesses.

Some beneficiaries expressed satisfaction with the practical knowledge acquired, saying the training had begun creating income-generating opportunities for them.

One of the trainees, Modupe Osundeyi, who is undergoing catering training, said she had acquired skills in baking and food production, including preparing buns, egg rolls and doughnuts.

She said she had approached a school near her residence and secured an opportunity to supply it with buns and doughnuts.

“The programme has equipped me with practical knowledge and enabled me to earn an income. I went to a school close to my house, explained the skills I had acquired and asked if they could give me a contract. They agreed, and I will be making buns and doughnuts for them,” she said.

Another female trainee undergoing automobile training said she had learnt about different engine types, their components, maintenance procedures and basic repairs.

She, however, appealed to the government to provide more equipment and extend the programme to rural communities so more young people can benefit.

The trainee also encouraged more girls to embrace technical trades traditionally dominated by men, saying gender should not limit their career choices.

“I am in a class dominated by boys, and there are only two girls. However, that has given me more courage. I am not intimidated by the number of boys in my class,” she said.

Another trainee at the Zenou TVET Centre, Orozo, Joy Genesis, said she had started earning income from baking barely four months after enrolling in the programme.

Genesis said the practical training had equipped her with skills in cake production and decoration, pastries, bread-making and confectionery, enabling her to take commercial orders.

“We’ve learnt a lot. We’ve learnt pastries, how to make cakes, and how to cover cakes. We’ve learnt meat pies, all forms of bread. They’ve taught us how to make bread rolls, fruit bread, honey bread and coconut bread,” she said.

She listed other products covered by the training, including coconut candy, buns, egg rolls, Scotch eggs and shawarma.

Genesis said the hands-on approach had helped her gain confidence and practise independently, adding that she had received orders for wedding and birthday cakes.

She said, “Our work here is hands-on. We did the practicals by ourselves. We did it by ourselves, and we go home and practise.

“Since I started, I’ve had wedding cakes and birthday cakes. I even had a birthday cake this weekend that just passed.”