By Razaq Bamidele
Ogun State Government has assured the Federal Government of its cooperation and support for its skill acquisition scheme, Project T-MAX.
It is a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme, aimed at lifting 100 million out of poverty in Nigeria by 2030.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele who stood in for Governor Dapo Abiodun, gave the assurance Wednesday while receiving the Project T-MAX team, led by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Education Intervention, Mr. Fela Bank-Olemoh.
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Salako-Oyedele explained that Ogun State has become attractive for training Programmes like the T-Max project, owing to the various policies introduced by the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration, which has also played a critical role at making the state attractive to investors.
The Deputy Governor noted that the present administration has also been able to improve the ease of doing business to ensure that investors continue to find the state attractive, saying a lot of investment has gone into infrastructure development, with major construction of roads embarked upon in industrial areas in the state.
While welcoming the T-Max intervention by the Federal Government, she said the project will further complement the efforts by the present administration in the state to give technical education to the people, assuring that the T-Max team of the support of the State Government.
To this end, the Federal Government has opened an online portal to enroll people between ages 18 abd 35, into the skill acquisition programme aimed at lifting one hundred million people out of poverty by year 2030.
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As stated earlier, no fewer than 2000 people in Ogun State are expected to benefit from the special project, while interested participants from Lagos and Ogun State are to visit www.T-Max.ng from Thursday, 1st of September, 2022.
The Programme, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President will train 15, 000 people across the seven states of Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Enugu, Nasarawa, Gombe and Kaduna States, noting that Project T-Max is a programme approved under the National Steering Committee on National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (NPRGS).
Bank-Olemoh further noted that about 18 different skills, ranging from ICT to engineering services would be acquired by the respective participants in the state, informing that the training period would be for three months.
His words: “We are going to be training 15, 000 people over the next three months across seven states of Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Enugu, Nasarawa, Gombe and Kaduna States. We will be training close to 18 skills; ICT, fashion, building and construction, engineering services and so on.
“What we have done when it comes to the skills we will be focusing on, we are working with the Ogun State team, based on the industries in Ogun and based on the skills gap in the state. 2000 individuals will be trained in Ogun State over the next three months.
“The key thing is that delivery partners will be TVET centers based in Ogun State, we have done a lot of work in that area, we’ve certified some TVET centers in the state.
“One of the key things we are trying to achieve with this programme is to reduce poverty, so, we will be putting money into the hands of this centers and we are excited about that. Another key thing is that we are going to be giving starter packs to the best students, so the very best students will be getting starter packs depending on the skills they are trained on.”
While noting that residents of the state between the ages of 18 and 35 are eligible to learn a skill under the programme, he added that the program is meant only for those who have the time and would be serious about the training.
The Senior Special Assistant noted that the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) would be ensuring that the training meets the standard set by the Federal Government, adding that the government is also working to ensure internship placement for students that go through the programme.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical and Vocational Education Board; Prof. Sunday Odemuyiwa in his remarks commended the Federal Government for the initiative which he said would help to take youths off the street through vocational education, adding that the T-Max project is a welcome idea which falls within the focus of the Prince Dapo Abiodun led administration.