Jos – The Industrial Trust Fund (ITF) said it established the Sectoral Skills Council in order identify gaps from all sectors of the nation’s economy.
Dr Felix Otuwarikpo, the Head of Publications and Media Relations, ITF, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Tuesday that the council would also be tasked to identify factors responsible for the gaps and how to address them.
According to him, ITF is collaborating with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to carry out skills gap survey in the economy.
“The interim report has been submitted and we are expecting to have a complete report before the end of the year.
“We cannot address these gaps without having the skills council; the council is to look at the report of the gap survey, allocate citizens based on their areas of proficiency to these jobs,” he said.
Otiwarikpo said the ITF would host as well as coordinate the Secretariat, so as to look at all the sectors of the economy.
“Where there are available jobs, fix people, based on the proficiencies required; also our training programmes will be modified based on the identified gaps,’’ he explained.
The official explained that in Britain, there were more than 17 sectoral skills councils, which were in tandem with industrialisation and diversification of that economy.
He said the skills council would be part of measures to revitalise the different sectors.
Otuwarikpo expressed worry that some Nigerians might not fit into the industrial projection, because they might not have the right skills to do the jobs if investors came.
“Nigeria may be deficient in the skilled persons to operate their businesses because only a few Nigerians are skilled in high Tech Investment.
“’It is wrong for people to believe that there are no jobs in the country, rather there may be difficulty in having people with the right skills to discharge such jobs.
“When you conduct interviews, you observe that some university degree holders cannot even write applications,’’ he said.
He pointed out that the economy could only be diversified by the citizens and urged Nigerians to ensure that they acquired the required skills to compete favourably in the industrial global economy. (NAN)