The Federal Government has started the training of about one million Nigerian youths under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa (CON), announced this during an inspection visit to some TVET partner centres in Abuja, including AFS Vocational Hub in Garki and Golden Finger Farms and Ranches Limited along the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway.
Dr. Alausa revealed that over 250,000 trainees are currently participating in the first phase of the programme across 2,600 centres nationwide. He described the initiative as “a major step in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to empower young Nigerians with employable and entrepreneurial skills.”
He explained that while 86 trades were initially identified, 28 key skill areas were selected for implementation. These include fashion and garment making, livestock production, plumbing, GSM repair, tiling, and farming. The Minister noted that the TVET curriculum is “90 percent practical and 10 percent theoretical” to give participants hands-on experience.
According to Dr. Alausa, over 1.3 million applications were received when the registration portal opened, and 960,000 youths were verified through their NIN and BVN to ensure transparency. He said the government decided to pay training centres directly to prevent fraud.
Each trainee receives a monthly stipend of ₦22,500, which covers ₦17,500 for upkeep and ₦5,000 for transport allowance. Training centres receive ₦45,000 per trainee monthly for instructional support. Graduates will also be given starter packs to help them begin small-scale businesses.
Dr. Alausa stressed that the initiative shows the President’s “strong commitment to youth development,” adding that the government has ensured sustainability through incremental funding and collaboration with the Bank of Industry to provide single-digit loans to graduates. He reaffirmed that the Federal Government will expand the programme nationwide to make skilled Nigerian youths drivers of innovation and national productivity.