BY DAVIDSON ADAMS
The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, through the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM) on Tuesday expressed its determination using its mandate and expertise to up government’s drive to create 100 million jobs through Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).
The Director General/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NACETEM, Prof. Okechukwu Ukwuoma, while welcoming delegates to the workshop organized by NACETEM, South-west office, Lagos, said: This workshop could not have come at a better time than now when the current administration’s objective for job and wealth creation is at the all-time high.
He acknowledged that the choice of this workshop is to directly contribute to the objective of wealth creation using science, technology and innovation as a pilot, adding specifically, that the workshop will be focusing on TVET to build local content capacity and create sustainable wealth.
Engr. Ukwuoma, said: “It needs to be stressed that the primary objective of TVET is to assist the federal and state education authorities in their effort to revitalize, reform and expand the provision of skills, vocations, science and technology to meet the nation’s present and future socio-economic needs.
“Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) is that aspect of education which leads to the acquisition of practical and applied skills as well as basic scientific knowledge. NACETEM considers it imperative to beam its searchlight on technical and vocational education with a view to equipping the country’s teeming youths with the necessary skills that can help them to overcome the challenges of unemployment and/or joblessness as the case may be.”
.He reiterated that NACETEM is an agency of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology saddled with the responsibility of providing critical knowledge support in the area of STI management through policy research, capacity building, science, technology and innovation advisory services, databank of STI resources, among others.
According to him, the workshop should be seen within the prism of reaching out to the teeming public, particularly in capacity building and advisory services, stressing that the agency is hopeful that stakeholders and members of the public at the auspicious event will contribute significantly to the overall success of the workshop.
The CEO said organizing a national workshop on technical and vocational education training is a conscious step towards stemming the issues of joblessness, unemployment, restiveness, among other vices which hinder growth and development of a nation.
“It is time to look inwards and open the eyes of the nation’s populace, particularly the youth, to the endless opportunities in technical and vocational activities. In view of this, this workshop will look at issues such as ‘developing industry-ready technically skilled manpower for sustainable industrial development’, ‘redirecting technical and vocational curriculum and content optimization in tangent with the global trends’, ‘harnessing innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities in the Local Content Act and Presidential Executive Order 5’, among others. All these are geared towards showcasing how to tap into or leverage on the nation’s abundant local resources using technical and vocational education.
“Our efforts in the direction of TVET in times past are beginning to yield results. This workshop is a further attempt to consolidate on the yielded dividends and to continue to stress the need to embrace technical and vocational education as a veritable tool of driving and achieving sustainable development.
“We are convinced that we have started a deliberate journey that will birth a new Nigeria, where technical and vocational education will make issues such as unemployment, unemployability, limited industrial activities, among others will become a thing of the past.” He said.