The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) in collaboration with the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), has launched the Skills for Prosperity Nigeria (S4P-N) program.
The programme is expected to impact 2,000 Nigerians with skills to drive sustainable employment in the agribusiness, ICT, and creatives sectors in Lagos State.
The S4P-N program aims to facilitate a new and inclusive pathway to career-oriented learning through an industry-led national apprenticeship and training system for youths, women, and persons with disabilities (PwDs).
The two-year FCDO funded program will provide technical support and capacity-building interventions to improve, institutionalize and promote a National Apprenticeship and Training System under the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), a government agency under the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment.
“We are excited about this partnership, as it aligns with the mandate of the agency to upskill at least 50,000 residents in Lagos; with this program, we are optimistic that we are in the right direction towards achieving and surpassing this objective,” Teju Abisoye, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) said.
Read also: Foundation empowers low-income female entrepreneurs with digital skills
She said that the partnership between both organizations is important to the primary aim of the present administration towards building a 21st-century economy.
In addition by 2023, the program is expected to indirectly impact thousands of more beneficiaries across the nation through an approach that would scale across states and regions.
Sybil Ferris, acting team lead, Skills for Prosperity Program, said that the United Kingdom-funded program which aims to support enterprise development and provide youths with decent jobs will run across nine African countries including Nigeria.
“Through robust sector skills assessment, three key sectors in high demand have been identified – Agriculture, Information Communications Technology, and the Creative industry, hence our focus will be targeted at upskilling youths in these sectors and placing them in gainful employment,” she said.
Ferris added that the program will involve the participation of government, private sector, and public/private training providers (Technical Colleges, Polytechnics, and Universities) in the delivery of nationally recognized programs at level 2-5 of the Nigeria Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
“This will help increase access, improve quality and relevance of skills, as well as ease school-to-work transition as a new pathway to a career-oriented education and training for all categories of youth especially women and PwDs,” she said.
Ben Llewellyn-Jones, deputy high commissioner, British Deputy High Commission Lagos, stated that the program will help produce disciplined, positive, and instructive youths, especially in Lagos State through its detailed and well-structured engagement processes.
The S4P-N program is implemented by the Palladium International Development Limited in Nigeria.
