The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has commended the Rivers State Government for assisting in facilitating the achievement of her set goals and targets aimed at building a functional and effective workforce for the State and the country at large.
The ITF’s Area Manager, Port Harcourt Area Office, Mrs Ifeyinwa Osagie made the commendation recently at a one-day interactive forum with clients and stakeholders.
She said ITF was strategically poised to provide the requisite blocks for capacity building of employees across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Mrs Osagie explained that the organisation would continue to be involved in pursuance of its mandate which is to provide, promote and encourage the acquisition of skills and competencies in industry and commerce with a view to generating a pool of indigenous manpower sufficient to meet the needs of the Nigerian economy.
She commended the state government and other employers of labour who patronised her training programmes and services both within and outside the state and assured that they would not be left out in the scheme of things.
She noted that efforts at poverty reduction, employment generation and wealth creation would only produce the expected outcome if it is driven by adequate skilled manpower.
According to her, “ It is in the light of this that ITF partners with other relevant bodies, to build the capacity of manpower in Nigeria under the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP).
“The fund is also providing technical and vocational skills training for the Nigerian youths under the National Industrial Skills Development Program (NISDP ) and other skills acquisition programmes of the funds.
“The ITF cannot do this alone, in view of the huge resources involved and the only source of revenue to the ITF is the one percent from contributing employers who are registered with the fund”, she said.
She urged all corporate bodies that are by law mandated to contribute to the ITF to continue to perform their statutory obligations.

By: Ike Wigodo