Professor Idris M. Bugaje, Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), has praised Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, for his strong commitment to advancing skills development in the state. Bugaje gave commendations during the commissioning of three vocational institutes and two major development projects inaugurated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Kaduna state.
Professor Bugaje noted that the Institute of Skill Acquisition & Development at Rigachikum can address numerous challenges facing the youths of Kaduna state and Nigeria in the area of unemployment. “Your Excellency (Governor of Kaduna state), Kaduna state, like other Nigerian states, faces significant challenges in youth unemployment and economic diversification. Vocational training and skills development are widely recognised as critical pathways to address these issues, empowering individuals with practical skills, market-ready skills for self-reliance, and gainful employment.
Professor Bugaje said Nigeria has a beneficial population with a resilient passion to overcome the country’s economic challenges. He highlighted the fact that Kaduna State is the centre of skills development, with Panteka Market being the largest market for skills in West Africa. He stated that the three institutes of skills will bring economic prosperity to Kaduna State.
Prof. Bugaje expressed the NBTE’s full support for Governor Uba Sani’s skills initiatives, noting that with the establishment of the Kaduna State Skills Centre in the three Senatorial Districts of the state, the state has become the leading centre of skills development and testified that it is the only state with a skills council. “The NBTE wishes to assure His Excellency that we will give a strong commitment to these three skills institutes spread across the Kaduna Senatorial districts. We shall do this by providing demand-driven curricula in National Occupational Standards (NOS) and qualified instructors for the institutes,” the Executive Secretary said.
Prof. Bugaje congratulated the Governor of Kaduna state on his two successful years in office and key achievements in skills development, noting that the skills centre is fully equipped with equipment that cannot be matched in any Nigerian polytechnic or university. Prof. Bugaje emphasised that Governor Uba Sani’s skills initiatives will help reduce problems associated with youth juvenile delinquency and bring about rapid economic development to the state. President Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s trip to Kaduna on Thursday included the commissioning of the Institute of Skill Acquisition & Development at Riga Chukun, a 300-bed Specialist Hospital at Millennium Square, and the introduction of 100 CNG buses for intra-city commute.
