By Oluwatoyin Onigbanjo
Lagos – The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has called on Federal Government to release about N670 million to lay off the backlog of payments to students under the Student Work Experience Scheme (SIWES).
Mr Dickson Onuoha, Acting Director-General, ITF, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday that the agency was appealing to the government for the funds.
He said that the ITF had not been able to pay students their 6 months Industrial Training (IT) allowances because it was financially handicapped.
SIWES is a scheme where students in certain technical and science departments in tertiary institutions usually observe compulsory work attachments with relevant organisations.
“The scheme is currently lacking the resources to pay off the backlog of SIWES allowances.
“We have applied for about N670 million to offset the first set of the debts we have to pay the students for their industrial attachments, and we hope that it will be released soon.
“The essence of this whole SIWES is for us to create a platform for hands-on work experience by the students, so they can have a better grasp of what is expected of them upon graduation.
“The fund is also planning a line of programmes to ensure that graduates also have continuous learning platforms to ensure their eligibility for the jobs they are searching for.
“These platforms will include graduate internship programmes, leadership and entrepreneurial programmes, to boost the skill gap in the nation’s labour industry,” Onuoha said.
The ITF Acting DG, however, expressed displeasure over the act of students who forged their IT letters and proceeded to apply for SIWES allowances.
He said that the ITF had plans underway to check such abnormalities and fish out scapegoats before further payments were made.
He advised young graduates to invest in themselves through further studies, diligence and hard work, saying that those were the qualities that would guarantee employment and create jobs for the nation.