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TEXT OF
AN ADDRESS BY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LONGMAS SAMBO WAMUK, DIRECTOR GENERAL/CHIEF
EXECUTIVE, INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FUND ON 14TH FEBRUARY, 2008 AT THE
HEADQUARTERS COMPLEX, JOS |
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Your Excellency, The Governor of
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The Hon. Minister of State,
Commerce and Industry |
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Members of Plateau State
Executive Council |
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Directors General of MAN, NECA
and NACIMA |
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Management of Industrial
Training Fund |
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Distinguished Invited Guests |
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My dear staff of ITF |
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Members of the Press |
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Ladies and gentlemen. |
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It is with a deep sense of joy,
that I welcome you to the closing ceremony of the 2007 annual performance
review meeting of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF. |
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As a forward looking
organisation, it has become the tradition for us to take stock of our activities
and operations of the preceding year in order to prepare grounds for greater
commitment in the coming years. |
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This year’s meeting which began
on Tuesday, 12th February, 2008, and which reviewed activities for
the Year 2007, has been quite eventful with meaningful discussions and
contributions on the ways to move the Fund forward. |
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Today’s event is the grand
finale of this review exercise, and I am particularly delighted to welcome in
our midst, captains of industry and a host of other distinguished personalities,
who have had to shelve other state engagements in order to lend solidarity to
us. |
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This occasion which will also
feature some awards and laurels, is a platform for the celebration of the
excellence of members of the workforce and segment of our stakeholders who
had performed creditably or were exemplary in their relationship with ITF
during the year under review. |
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The import of the event is two
fold: it serves to motivate beneficiaries to greater heights of excellence,
and to challenge others that did not win to strive harder. It is also a reminder that hard work,
commitment to duty and distinctive performances hardly ever pass unnoticed,
and indeed, will always be rewarded. |
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Apart from providing a stage to
honour distinction, the award ceremony affords us an opportunity to highlight
our performances in the preceding year. |
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Your Excellency, the Honourable
Minister of State for Industry, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is equally
imperative for me to use this occasion to highlight some of our modest
contributions in line with our mandate, and in the task of moving our nation
forward. |
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DIRECT
TRAINING SERVICES |
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The last few years have
witnessed a massive reform of the economy which had bearing on the way the
Fund performed its duties. Privatisation
and commercialisation of public enterprises and poverty eradication have
posed human capital challenges. |
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As the foremost human capital
training institution in |
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As follow up to previous years,
the ITF in 2007 conducted 61 identification of training needs survey. In response to the needs that had been
unravelled by the surveys, the Fund generated 27 new programmes that were
implemented for companies in |
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In addition ITF’s efforts to
export its service to other African countries witnessed a major breakthrough
as the Fund trained Management staff of |
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It is the desire of Management
that this year, efforts towards expanding it’s reach on the continent would
be redoubled. |
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SKILLS
TRAINING AND ACQUISITION |
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In recognition of the fact that
the fight against poverty would be a nullity if Nigerians are not equipped
with requisite and employable skills, the ITF forwarded a proposal to the
Federal Government to establish 14 Skills Centres Nationwide in order to
expand its skills delivery capacity in craft areas. Even as favourable action of the Government
is still being awaited, existing skills Centres in |
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It is our firm belief that when
the proposed centres have been approved and have taken off, the capacity of
the ITF to churn out qualified, hands – on technicians will be greatly
enhanced. |
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In the area of apprenticeship
the ITF conducted Apprenticeship appraisals nationwide and 29 apprenticeship
approvals were installed in 29 organisations.
In the same vein, approvals were granted to six companies to install
apprenticeships. |
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To further strengthen the
capacity of the Fund to effectively impart skills, the organisation entered
into collaborative arrangements with the following organisations: Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Centre
for Adaptation of Technology, Best Konsults Limited, Cement Company of |
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The Fund has also concluded
arrangements to collaborate with the National Board for Technical Education,
NBTE, National Directorate of Employment, NDE, and the Federal Ministry of
Labour and Productivity to evolve a National Vocational Qualifications
framework for |
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SIWES |
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The role of the Students
Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in the training of our Engineers,
Scientists and Technicians is familiar to us all. To reduce costs incurred by participants
and supervisors during the internship period, the Fund, as it has always done
in previous years, disbursed the sum of One billion , eight hundred and one
million, eight hundred and sixty five thousand, six hundred and twenty five
naira (N1,801,865,625.00) as SIWES
allowances to students and supervisors.
A breakdown of the figure shows that; seven hundred and ninety three
million, four hundred and ninety five thousand naira (N793,495,000.00) was
disbursed among fifty five thousand, one hundred and eighty two (55,182) Universities
undergraduates, while five hundred and sixty four million, two hundred and
forty seven thousand naira (N564,247,000.00) was shared among fifty seven
thousand two hundred and fifty three (57,253) students of Polytechnics and
Monotechnics. Twenty nine thousand
five hundred students(29,500) of accredited courses in Colleges of Education
shared two hundred and ninety three million, four hundred and sixty thousand
naira,(N293,460,000.00, while supervisory allowances totalled one hundred and
fifty million, six hundred and nine thousand, six hundred and twenty five
naira.(N150,609,625.00) |
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Also in the year under review,
SIWES stakeholders convened an interactive session for the SIWES Chief
Executives Forum to brainstorm on some of the problems bedevilling the scheme
such as Funding, Supervision of students and the lack of placement for
prospective interns. |
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REIMBURSEMENT |
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In keeping with its mandatory
obligation of reimbursing Contributing Employers that trained employees
according to ITF guidelines, in the year under review, the ITF processed and
paid out one billion, two hundred and fifty two million, six hundred and
fifty nine thousand, nine hundred and eighty one naira, fifty seven
kobo(N1,252,659,981.57) to 238 companies, as compared to one billion, thirty
six million, three hundred and twenty thousand, four hundred and eighty one
naira, forty four kobo that was paid to 233 companies in 2006. The increase in reimbursement could be
attributed to the coming into force of the 5th Reimbursement
Scheme, which streamlined the process, and the scaling up of reimbursement
workshops which rose from eleven in 2006 to sixty in 2007. |
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INTERNAL
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As a training institution, the
Fund is aware of the importance of training and retraining of the workforce
if the organisation’s onerous mandate is to be attained. To this end, the Fund has through out its
history, prioritised staff training.
But the number of people training in 2007 was unprecedented even by
ITF standards. Overall, one thousand
one hundred and twenty six members of the Fund’s workforce attended one form
of training or the other. A breakdown
shows that one thousand and sixty two members of staff were sent on local
short courses, twenty seven were sponsored on long term training, while
thirty seven embarked on Overseas training. |
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The tempo will be sustained this
year until management is convinced that all ITF staff are armed with the
appropriate skills to effectively discharge their duties. |
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REBRANDING
AND PUBLICITY |
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This is perhaps one area that
the Fund chalked up record achievements.
When I assumed duty in 2006, I had heard of the organisation but
hardly knew any thing about its activities.
In that respect, I would not say I am alone even as many people within
the vicinity of the Fund’s Headquarters were equally ignorant of what
business the Fund was into. Management
resolved to reverse the poor profile by approving the implementation of a
series of PR instruments that have given life to the Fund’s previous poor
profile. |
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It is our commitment to sustain
such publicity efforts until the Fund is familiar to Nigerians as any high
profile public institution. It is in this regard that the staff have been
enjoined to serve as brand ambassadors of the Fund’s quest for optimum goodwill
in all areas of operations. |
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STAFF
WELFARE |
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Your Excellency, Honourable
Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, like I earlier appreciated, the workforce of
any organisation is its most prized asset.
One that is properly catered for is all more so. It is for this reason
that staff welfare is uppermost to our minds. The ITF was among the first
organisations to pay the 15 percent salary increase announced by the Federal
Government. It was also among the
first institutions to implement the Harmonised Salary for Public Servants
(HAPSS) and the arrears thereof. |
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To further motivate the
workforce, management championed the transition from HAPSS to CONTISS. The rest they say is history. Staff welfare will remain a key focus of
the ITF as neglect of the welfare of the workforce we believe will provide a
perfect recipe for a plunge in productivity. |
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IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE REFORMS AGENDA |
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Distinguished Ladies and
gentlemen, it may be incomplete for me to conclude this address without
giving some insight into a matter that has been well addressed, but whose
facts have been deliberately misrepresented to confuse the larger public. |
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During my assumption of office,
the implementation of the Public Service Reforms in Parastatals as directed
by the Federal Government was one of the very first issues we had to tackle.
My management had equally made a pledge to carry out the reforms in line with
the guidelines, and without compromising our integrity and clear focus. |
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For the avoidance of doubt, we
successfully implemented the reform agenda in the areas of downsizing and ITF
new structure. |
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It is also on record that the
Fund had paid the terminal benefits of all the affected staff, which total
sum stood at two hundred and sixteen million, five hundred and thirty six thousand,
seven hundred and sixty naira, sixteen kobo (N216,536,760.16). |
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In addition, the pre-retirement
training for the disengaged staff which is a prerequisite of the reform
guideline, has also been conducted. As
a matter of fact, both our parent Ministry and the Bureau of Public Service
Reforms, have expressed satisfaction with the way we faithfully adhered to
the guidelines of the exercise. |
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Furthermore, as a way of
properly keeping the affected staff informed, management provided a platform
where all areas regarding their benefits were succinctly explained to them. |
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We are therefore taken aback
when a handful of the affected staff have taken to the streets with all kinds
of falsehood and campaign of calumny.
We urge the public to ignore their antics and acts of mischief. |
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It should be noted that if we
had failed to comply with any of the reform guidelines, the relevant body
would not have commended us. |
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While we urge for the matter to
be put to rest, we shall continue to make ourselves available on all matters
in line with our open door policy. |
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CONCLUSION |
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Ladies and gentlemen, 2007 was a
hugely successful year for the ITF. Achievements were recorded in nearly all
areas of the Fund’s activities and we assure that the momentum would be
sustained. |
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These achievements would not
have been possible without the contributions of individuals and agencies that
relate with the ITF. Our thanks go to
the Organised Private Sector, OPS, who have shown so much support and understanding;
we thank employers of labour for their responsiveness. We look forward to your continuous response
to the call for training and remittance of contributions to the ITF. We thank all stakeholders in SIWES for
cooperating with the Fund in running the Scheme. To the Federal Ministry of
commerce and Industry, we cannot thank you enough for creating enabling
environment for own operations as well as guiding us on a proper course. Our gratitude also goes to the Government
and the people of |
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Finally, I thank all my
colleagues in the Fund, the ITF management team and all other staff who
worked tirelessly with commitment and sincerity of purpose for the Fund to
attain such achievements. May I, at
this juncture, on behalf of myself, the Management and the entire members of
staff of the Fund, extend gratitude to our distinguished guests for finding
time, despite tight schedules to be with us on this memorable occasion. I pray that the Almighty God grant you
journey mercies back to your respective destinations. |
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Thank you and May God bless you. |
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ASSOC.
PROF. LONGMAS SAMBO WAPMUK |
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Director General/Chief Executive |