The National Council on Skills (NCS) has commended Governor Uba Sani for the successful inauguration and establishment of the Kaduna State Council on Skills at its last session.
In a letter conveying the commendation, Vice President Kashim Shettima noted that “the council particularly noted your leadership in chairing the State Council, a move that aligns perfectly with the Renewed Hope Agenda and sets a benchmark for other sub-national entities.
‘’By creating a dedicated institutional framework for skills development, Kaduna State has demonstrated a proactive commitment to addressing the unemployment gap and fostering human capital development in line with our national objectives.”
Mr Shettima argued that the milestone of creating the Kaduna State Council on Skills was a testament to Mr Sani administration’s vision of integrated economic growth.
The vice president further said that the National Council on Skills ‘’views the Kaduna Model as a vital template for the ‘Bottom-Up’ approach to skills acquisition, which is essential for ensuring that our vocational and technical training initiatives reach the grassroots effectively.’’
Urging the governor to maintain the momentum, the vice president said that NCS looks ‘’forward to continued collaboration between the National Secretariat and the Kaduna State Council to harmonise standards and scale the impact of our interventions.’’
Recall that Mr Sani has expanded technical and vocational education as well as skills acquisition, by establishing three state-of-the-art Kaduna State Institute of Vocation Training and Skills Development(KIVTSD).
The three Skills centres located at Soba, Rigachikun and Samarun Kataf towns, in Zones 1, 2 and 3 senatorial districts respectively, are expected to produce 12,000 artisans annually.
The artisans who are being taught welding, aluminium fabrication, fashion design, solar panels installation and other courses, would be issued certificates after completing their respective programmes.
The state government is also partnering with the National Board For Technical Education (NBTE) for the relevant certification of the courses.
The governor also plans to remodel the Panteka Market which has about 38,00 artisans, into an industrial hub, working in such areas as welding and fabrication, carpentry and joinery as well as masonry.