Jos – The Jos Area Manager of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Mr Sarpiya Yoila, said on Thursday that the current economic hardship in the country was affecting the company adversely.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos, Yoila said the situation was making it difficult for people to enroll in training and empowerment programmes at the ITF.
He said that the company had not been able to meet its benchmark because of the global harsh economy.
“The global economy is causing a setback and the fall in oil prices has hindered the ITF from achieving the set goals of training and empowering people.
“To be specific, companies and organisations that pay to us are now cash-strapped and cannot do much.
“Usually, our benchmark for training programmes is that we should have at least 30 participants in a training session so that we can break even and there would be appreciable return on investment.
“But these days, we only get half of the number and that is not good for both the ITF and the country in general.”
Yoila, said however, that the organisation was collaborating with government and relevant stakeholders to ensure that youths were trained and empowered.
He noted that in spite of challenges, the company still regarded itself as the foremost human capital development agency in Nigeria and was doing its best developing indigenous human capital to aid economic growth.
“We are collaborating with government which is central to the success of ITF programmes and other critical stakeholders in a programme called the National Industrial Skills Development Programme.
“We also collaborate with traditional rulers because most of our participants come from the grassroots, especially youth empowerment programmes.
“Currently, we are collaborating with the Bank of Industry in ensuring that there are training programmes which will not just empower youths but become impactful and also sustain them.
