Emmanuel Ifeanyi 
The International Training Fund (ITF) has called on the organized private sector to join the agency in training efficient manpower for rapid national development.
The Director-General of ITF, Dr Afiz Ogun made the call in Aba during the closing ceremony and distribution of start-up packs to graduates of the 2023 National Industrial Skills Development Programme.
It was gathered that the ITF in collaboration with the Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc trained 195 youths and women selected from the three Senatorial Zones in Abia State during the National Industrial Skills Development Programme.
The ITF Director General represented by Mr Stephen Ivarave, Deputy Director, Finance, ITF headquarters said the private sector training collaboration would rapidly develop Nigeria’s human resources for greater output.
He also advocated the formation of cooperative societies by trainees according to the areas of skill acquisition in other to help themselves and mobilize more funds for greater impact.
According to him, the federal government is determined to reduce unemployment through youth empowerment programmes.
He stressed that Nigeria needed to expand local and national access to its unique resources through the use of modern technology and the enthronement of a new culture.
Mr Nwigboji Nwafagu, the Manager of the ITF office in Abia State, said the intervention programme commenced in the second quarter of 2023.
Nwafagu said the trainees were impacted with skills, knowledge and attitudes to thrive as employees and entrepreneurs to meaningfully contribute to the development of Abia State and Nigeria.
He urged the trainees to go out and be determined to succeed in their areas of training and to be good ambassadors of ITF.
Mr Ekele Eze, Nigerian Breweries Corporate Affairs Manager, South, said the collaboration with ITF was meant to empower Nigerian youth as entrepreneurs.
Eze thanked the ITF for the collaboration stressing that the success so far had shown what could be done when industrial-like minds join hands to attend to troubling issues of the society.
He said the NB Plc empowerment project started in 2020 with the backing of an ancient principle that no business can succeed without empowering its community of residence.
He therefore enjoined the trainees to see the event as the beginning of a new chapter and to continue to learn and embrace new challenges to survive and succeed.
Mr James Enwereji and Faith Onyedimma who were trained in Solar Installation and Fashion Design respectively thanked the management of ITF for allowing them to be trained in various vocations.
The duo promised to judiciously use the equipment given to them to impact other lives and promised not to sell the start-up packs they received from the agency.
