The Federal Government has equipped 38 federal and state technical colleges across the country to expand access to free technical and vocational education, as part of efforts to tackle youth unemployment and poverty.
Under the initiative, beneficiaries receive free tuition, training materials, monthly stipends and starter packs to enable them to establish businesses and become economically self-reliant after completing their training.
National Project Coordinator of the Innovation Development for Effective Acquisition of Skills, IDEAS, Project, Mrs Blessing Ehi Ogwu, disclosed this during an inspection of the IDEAS Project Centre at the Federal Science and Technical College, FSTC, Orozo, Abuja.
Ogwu said the Federal Government, with support from the World Bank, has equipped 20 federal and 18 state technical colleges to strengthen practical skills acquisition and improve employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
She explained that the investment reflected the government’s determination to reposition technical and vocational education and provide young people with marketable skills rather than relying solely on academic qualifications.
“The Federal Government is interested in TVET education. That is why we have about 38 technical colleges that the Federal Government has funded and equipped like this, all to enhance skills,” she said.
According to her, the institutions provide opportunities for both formal and informal skills training, with the FSTC Orozo serving as the designated federal technical college for the Federal Capital Territory.
Ogwu expressed confidence that the free technical education programme would continue under the current administration, urging Nigerians to support its sustainability.
Also speaking, the National Project Monitoring Officer in the Minister’s Office at the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Olatunji Odewunmi, said the country has more than 1,000 TVET centres, including about 140 skills training centres spread across the FCT.
He described the IDEAS Project and the Federal Government’s TVET initiative as complementary interventions designed to expand access to practical skills training nationwide.
Odewunmi said the programme was entirely free, with the government covering tuition, training fees, instructional materials and other essential needs of beneficiaries, including accommodation for those in boarding facilities.
He added that trainees also received monthly stipends, while those who successfully completed their programmes would be provided with starter packs to enable them to establish businesses.
“Every one of them will get a starter pack even before the end of the training. By the day they graduate, they can go home with it,” he said.
On measures to ensure commitment and discipline among participants, Odewunmi explained that biometric attendance monitoring had been introduced, adding that trainees who failed to meet the required attendance threshold would lose their stipends and eligibility for starter packs.
He said project monitoring officers also visited the centres regularly to assess training activities and ensure that government resources were properly utilised.
The Principal of FSTC Orozo, Dr Stella Uhuegbu, said the college had adopted a training structure that prioritised practical experience, in line with the Federal Government’s revised TVET curriculum.
She explained that the curriculum prescribed a 70 per cent practical and 30 per cent theoretical training ratio, adding that the school had made adequate provisions for instructional materials, equipment and technical instructors to achieve the target.
According to her, the college has more than 1,000 regular students, while its six-month short-term skills programme accommodates over 1,000 trainees across five trades.
The available trades include information and communication technology, automobile mechanics, auto-electrical repairs, catering, garment making and GSM repairs.
Uhuegbu described the IDEAS Project as critical to the success of the TVET programme, noting that the newly constructed and equipped workshops had significantly strengthened the college’s capacity to deliver practical instruction.
“All the workshops you are seeing here were newly built and well equipped. The essence is to ensure that the skills training aspect of the TVET initiative is achieved because, without the workshops and equipment, we cannot effectively impact skills on the trainees,” she said.
She added that trainees would receive certificates upon graduation, alongside starter packs provided by the Federal Government to help them commence their respective trades.
Some beneficiaries who spoke during the inspection expressed satisfaction with the practical knowledge acquired, saying the training had already begun opening up income-generating opportunities for them.
One of the trainees, Modupe Osundeyi, who is undergoing catering training, said the programme had equipped her with skills in baking and food production, including the preparation of buns, egg rolls, doughnuts and other products.
She disclosed that she had started approaching prospective customers and had already secured an opportunity to supply buns and doughnuts to a school near her residence.
“The programme has equipped me with practical knowledge and enabled me to earn an income. I went to a school close to my house, explained the skills I had acquired and asked if they could give me a contract. They agreed, and I will be making buns and doughnuts for them,” she said.
Another female trainee undergoing automobile training, said she had acquired knowledge of different engine types, their components, maintenance procedures and basic repairs.
She, however, appealed to the government to provide more equipment and expand the programme to rural communities to enable more young people to benefit.
The trainee also encouraged more girls to embrace technical trades traditionally dominated by men, insisting that gender should not limit their career choices.
“I am in a class dominated by boys, and there are only two girls. However, that has given me more courage. I am not intimidated by the number of boys in my class,” she said.
She urged women to pursue their interests in technical fields, stressing that they deserved equal opportunities to acquire skills and excel in any profession.
Another trainee at the Zenou TVET Centre, Orozo, Joy Genesis, said she has started earning income from baking barely four months after enrolling in the vocational training programme, following her acquisition of practical skills in cake production, pastries and confectionery.
Genesis, who spoke during an interview at the centre, said the hands-on training had equipped her with the skills to produce different baked products independently and take commercial orders.
She disclosed that since commencing the programme about four to five months ago, she had learnt cake baking and decoration, meat pie production, bread-making and the preparation of several snacks.
“We’ve learnt a lot. We’ve learnt pastries, how to make cakes and cover cakes. We’ve learnt meat pie, all forms of bread. They’ve taught us how to make bread rolls, fruit bread, honey bread and coconut bread,” she said.
According to her, the training also covers the production of coconut candy, buns, egg rolls, Scotch eggs and shawarma, among other products.
Genesis attributed her growing confidence to the practical approach adopted by the centre, explaining that trainees were actively involved in the production process rather than relying solely on theoretical lessons.
“Our work here is hands-on. We did the practicals by ourselves. We did it by ourselves, and we go home and practise,” she said.
She said the skills acquired had already begun translating into economic opportunities, disclosing that she had received orders for wedding and birthday cakes.
“Yes, like me, since I started, I’ve had wedding cakes and birthday cakes. I even had a birthday cake this weekend that just passed,” she added.
