ORGANISE INTERACTIVE FORUM FOR STAKEHOLDERS

The House Committee Chairman on Industry, Hon. Solomon Agidani has called on the Industrial Training Fund and its supervising Ministry to organize an interactive forum that will bring together all relevant stakeholders as well as his Committee to a table of deliberation that will ascertain the contingent issues that are hindering the Fund's efforts in fully achieving its target goals.

Hon Agidani made the call when the Committee paid an oversight function recently to the Fund's Headquarters in Jos. He noted that the budget oversight meeting is aimed at giving them an elaborate insight into all the activities of the Fund to enable the Committee have a report for further necessary action. “We need a genuine reason for the release of any fund from our appropriation” therefore making it imperative for both of us to have common understanding of our definite objective towards realizing what the Fund is set up for.

On the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), Hon. Agidani commended ITF for sustaining the programme while calling for extra verification of SIWES participants on the side of ITF to avert the problem of numerical inflation and participation of irrelevant/non accredited Courses in the programme.

Adding that “if meaningful conclusion is reached with SIWES stakeholders, payment of the debt that the Fund is being owed could be spread over certain period of time”.

Earlier on in his address, the Chairman of the ITF Governing Council, Alhaji Bode Oyedele emphasized on the Fund's problem of inadequate SIWES funding from the Federal Government. Stressing that the Fund's offices have become a demonstration ground for students demanding for their SIWES claims.

Alhaji Oyedele went further stated that in 1971 when the Fund was established, there were very few institutions in the country at that time, which allowed the revenue generated to efficiently cover the Fund's operations in training, consultancy and the administration of SIWES. However the astronomic increase of institutions in the country calls for increase in funding. The Act that mandates the collection of one percent of the total annual payroll of any establishment with at least 25 staff need to be reviewed considering the insufficiency of the total input when put together in sustaining the Fund's operations.

In his opening address, the Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund, Associate Professor Longmas Sambo Wapmuk, OON, represented by the Director of Finance and Accounts Department, Mrs. Fatima Usman said the Fund has never relented in meeting up with the contemporary global challenge affecting the nation's industry as improved research, consultancy and training aid and techniques are put in place to that effect.