The Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme has recorded nearly 1.4 million applications within two weeks, with about 250,000 Nigerians currently undergoing skills training across more than 1,200 accredited centres nationwide.
The Special Assistant to the Minister of Education, Ikharo Attah, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, following an engagement between the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and the House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnic and Higher Technical Education, chaired by Fuad Laguda.
Alausa said the latest applications surpassed the 1.3 million recorded during the programme’s first cohort within ten days, reflecting growing interest in vocational training as a pathway to employment, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
He said the Federal Government was repositioning technical and vocational education to equip Nigerian youths with practical, industry-relevant skills to address unemployment and support economic growth.
Under the programme, each trainee receives a monthly stipend of ₦30,000, while accredited training centres receive ₦50,000 per student monthly to support training delivery.
The minister explained that biometric attendance verification had been introduced to strengthen accountability and ensure payments were tied to actual participation. He added that initial payment delays had been resolved, with payments to trainees and training centres up to date as of September.
On accreditation, Alausa said the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) assesses training centres before approval to ensure they meet prescribed standards and have the capacity to deliver quality training.
He disclosed that beneficiaries would receive starter packs and relevant equipment upon completing their training, enabling them to apply their skills, establish businesses and earn a livelihood. Trades such as tailoring and electrical installation were among those covered.
Beyond conventional vocational training, the minister said the government was supporting a Digital Technology Academy currently training 36,000 Nigerians in fields including software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing.
He added that participants had access to international learning platforms and professional certification opportunities associated with Coursera, Google and IBM to improve their competitiveness in the global digital economy.
Alausa further disclosed that the ministry was introducing a TVET job portal to connect graduates with prospective employers, while upgrading training infrastructure, modern equipment and instructors’ capacity.
Providing state-level figures, he said Bauchi had 4,888 trainees across 50 accredited centres, Akwa Ibom had 5,885 trainees across 57 centres, while Kogi had 5,144 trainees across 42 centres. Katsina had approximately 1,800 trainees in eight newly established technical centres.
The minister also highlighted efforts to improve technical education infrastructure and strengthen instructors’ capacity, disclosing that some lecturers were participating in a train-the-trainer programme in Lagos with experts from the Singapore Institute of Technical Education.
He called for stronger collaboration with the National Assembly, urging lawmakers to visit accredited centres in their constituencies to assess implementation and engage with trainees and training providers.
Alausa said the initiative was designed as a sustainable human capital development strategy, equipping beneficiaries with practical skills and resources to pursue employment and entrepreneurship rather than serving as a temporary social intervention.
In his remarks, Laguda described the engagement as productive and reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education and sustaining effective legislative oversight to strengthen technical and vocational education.
