In a significant move to boost youth employment and strengthen technical and vocational education in Nigeria, the Federal Government has launched an artisan-led mentorship model across 38 upgraded technical colleges nationwide.
The initiative was unveiled by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, during the 2025 Quarterly Citizens and Stakeholders Engagement on the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), held in Abuja.
According to Dr Alausa, under the new model, artisans will be paid to mentor trainees, creating a new value chain in the education sector. He revealed that the federal government aims to train five million young Nigerians with globally relevant skills within the next four years.
As part of the reforms, the 38 federal and state technical colleges have been upgraded to implement a dual-training model—with students spending 80% of their time on practical training and 20% in the classroom. This is intended to address the country’s skills gap and align technical education with global standards.
The NESRI reform agenda, Dr Alausa said, is designed to reposition Nigeria’s education sector as a skills-driven and knowledge-based system, tackling issues of access, quality, inclusivity, research, and professional development.
He emphasized the urgency of these reforms, noting that Nigeria has 15 million out-of-school children and over 45 million children facing learning poverty. Special attention, he said, will be given to adolescent girls aged 12–19, with over six million currently out of school.
In a related development, Dr Alausa announced that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) would begin computer-based testing (CBT) by November 2025, with full digitization of all national exams, including JAMB, to be completed by 2027. This shift is expected to reduce examination malpractice and improve transparency.
Also speaking at the event, Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, stressed the importance of technical and vocational education in reducing reliance on foreign expertise. “We have seen companies hiring 60% of their workforce from abroad. That must change,” she said.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Muntari Dandutse, expressed legislative support for the reforms, calling education the “heart of national transformation.”
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education launched a nationwide Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme. As part of this, Skill Training Centres (STCs), Vocational Enterprise Institutions (VEIs), and Mastercraft Persons (MCPs) were invited to register for accreditation through the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
Accredited centres will be eligible to receive government funding and must meet key requirements including CAC registration, adoption of National Skills Qualification (NSQ) curricula, and the provision of qualified trainers.
The new mentorship model complements the Skill-Up Artisans (SUPA) initiative launched in 2024 by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), which targets the upskilling and licensing of 10 million artisans over a two-year period.
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