The Oil and Gas Free
Trade Zones Authority (OGFTZA) Onne has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to boost skills and human resource capacity in work places.
In a statement made available to The Tide, OGFTZA said its Managing Director, Honourable Alabo Victor, signed on behalf of the authority, while the Director General of ITF, Dr Juliet Chukkas Onaeko signed for the Training Fund.
The OGFTZA’s MD stated at the ceremony which took place in Abuja recently that Free Trade Zones were designed to attract foreign direct investment in the Oil and Gas Sector of the nation’s economy.
He said the country is witnessing the evolution of trends and investments improve each in foreign direct investment and clientele.
Alabo said the oil and gas free of charge zones had been really active in current times and attracted main oil field operations.
He said the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone had attracted more than 200 businesses operating in different statuses ranging from oil service companies, projects manufacturing, processing, and banking and so on.
On her part, the ITF boss said the MoU was necessary to enhance effective collection of training contribution for the purpose of capacity building.
She said that shortage of technical and vocational skills is constraining enterprise development and restricting employment in the country, stressing that in spite of government intervention, the nation is nevertheless grappling with shortage of skills.
Chukkas-Onaeko said the country lacks the necessary expertise and therefore the ITF has proffered options that will address the weaknesses and bridge the capabilities and improvement needs without which it will be hard for Nigeria to totally industrialise.
The ITF DG further added that emerging economies show that requisite expertise constitutes a key platform, for attaining sustainable economic improvement which could only be accomplished by a properly planned and implementable system of education and training.
Philip Okparaji
