The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, Prof. Idris Muhammad Bugaje, has said that the Federal Government is wasting money on youth training programmes run by the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, and the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, because the certificates issued from such programmes are not nationally or internationally recognised.
Bugaje made the statement while responding to questions on the Nigerian Skills Qualifications Framework, NSQF, during a live radio interview on Correct FM with host Rymboxx, where he spoke extensively on skills certification and youth employability.
According to him, many government-funded training programmes focus on attendance rather than competence, leaving young people with certificates that do not qualify them for major projects or formal employment.
“The certification by ITF, by NDE, I’m very sorry to say, are certificates of attendance. They are not recognised at national level. They are not recognised at international level. And the government is wasting its money in training people with those kind of certificates,” Bugaje said.
He explained that the absence of a unified national skills certification framework has resulted in duplication, inefficiency, and poor outcomes, despite significant public investment in skills training.
Bugaje said the NSQF was introduced to address this challenge by providing a single, standardised system for assessing and certifying skills based on real work performance rather than classroom participation.
He noted that under the current system, many youths complete ITF or NDE programmes believing they are fully qualified, only to discover that their certificates are not accepted by employers in large industries or international projects.
According to him, this situation has contributed to high youth unemployment even as industries complain about shortages of skilled and certified workers.
Bugaje said Nigeria has experienced cases where thousands of workers were required for major infrastructure projects, yet very few Nigerians could be engaged because they lacked recognised qualifications.
He added that the National Council on Skills, chaired by the Vice President, has directed all skills development agencies to align with the NSQF to ensure one recognised certification system across the country.
The NBTE executive secretary said individuals who already possess ITF or NDE certificates are encouraged to undergo Recognition of Prior Learning, RPL, to convert their experience into nationally recognised qualifications.
He explained that the RPL process focuses on on-the-job assessment, where candidates are evaluated in workshops and real work environments rather than through written examinations.
Bugaje stressed that the goal is not to discredit existing institutions but to ensure that public funds invested in youth training translate into real employment opportunities.
He said aligning all government-funded training programmes with the NSQF would reduce waste, improve workforce quality, and help young Nigerians access better-paying jobs within and outside the country.
