From Muawuya Bala Idris, Katsina
The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has held its 2025 Stakeholders Forum in Katsina State, aimed at amending and re-strategizing its operations to enhance performance and improve service delivery to Nigerian youth.
The event carried the theme: “The Impact of ITF Skill Training Programme on Nigerian Youth: Role of SUPA in Exporting Talent through Licensing and Certification.”
Speaking at the forum, the ITF Area Manager for Katsina State, Ahmed Mahammed Yusuf, said the gathering was organized to provide a platform for exchanging ideas, sharing knowledge, and receiving feedback from beneficiaries of ITF services.
“ITF always listens and gives consideration to the opinions of its esteemed clients and stakeholders in order to improve service delivery,” Mahammed said. “We are determined to sustain this tempo and seek the continued patronage of our training programmes as well as remittances from both private and state-registered companies.”
He noted that despite economic challenges, the fund recorded remarkable participation in its short-term training programmes across management and leadership, engineering, ICT, agriculture, and finance.
“We have trained a huge number of Katsina youth under the Special Skill Intervention Programme (SSIP) and Skill Up Artisan Programme (SUPA),” Mahammed said. “Beneficiaries have acquired skills in crop production, tailoring and fashion design, carpentry and joinery, cyber security, among others.”
On the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), he added that numerous students from various higher institutions in Katsina State were placed and monitored, ensuring practical experience and skill acquisition.
Mahammed also commended Governor Dikko Umar Radda for his government’s support and cooperation, assuring that ITF would continue to partner with the state in human resources development.
Earlier in the forum, Dr. Salaudeen Nuraini Hashimu, a lecturer at the Department of Business Administration, Umaru Musa Yaradua University, presented a paper highlighting several ITF programmes that have transformed unemployed youth into skilled professionals. He praised the foresight of ITF for organizing the stakeholders forum.
During the event, participants actively engaged in discussions on ITF’s programmes and provided inputs aimed at maximizing the fund’s performance. The forum was attended by various stakeholders, including representatives of the Katsina Emirate Council.
