The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has disclosed that the Skill Acquisition and Training Centre in Bauchi would soon be used for the training of Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) and Internally Displaced Persons in the northeast sub-region.
The minister stated this Friday during at the 12th graduation ceremony of the Skill Acquisition and Training Centre at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Bauchi.
Represented by the Director, Skills Development and Certification of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ibrahim Jibuya, the minister challenged graduates of higher institutions in the country to be self-reliant and employers of labour, saying that the era of white collar jobs were gone.
He said that the centre in the state had a crucial role to play in employment generation which is one of the components of the cardinal policies of the present adminstration of President Muhammadu Bihari.
According to him, “My ministry renewed commitment to skills upgrading and development stems from the realization that if Nigerians are going to find and keep decent jobs, there is need for improved access to modern technology, increased utilization of machines and vast knowledge in the use of technological equipment.
“For this reason, the ministry has established seven skill acquisition and training centres in Warri, Lafia, Calabar, Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu,” adding that more relevant vocational trades will be included in the training and syllables of the ministry.
He lamented the shortage of technical instructors in all the centres belonging to the ministry, saying that efforts are on top gear to address the challenge along with other pressing needs of the centre.
In his address, the principal of the centre, Mr Gbokiss Jatau, said that from 2009 to date, the centre has trained 4,186 skill artisans that are outstanding in their various fields of study and well established entrepreneurs who are employers of labour.
He said that the centre was faced with numerous needs which include a 32-seater bus to convey trainees, renovation of hostels, an Equipped ICT centre, Clinic, electricity amongst others.
