The Federal Government has actually launched N3.41 bn as month-to-month stipends to more than 73,000 participants under its Technical and Vocational Education and Training programme as part of ongoing efforts to deal with joblessness and strengthen technical abilities development across the nation.
Figures obtained from the Federal Ministry of Education revealed that the stipend payment formed part of an overall N13.98 bn paid out under the effort.
According to the ministry, while N3.41 bn was paid straight to trainees, another N10.57 bn was allocated to recognized training centres associated with the application of the program.
The government also revealed that the effort brought in over 1.3 million applications nationwide, reflecting increasing interest in trade and technical education amidst economic difficulty and restricted task opportunities.
The TVET program, introduced on May 30, 2025, is being carried out by the Federal Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
The plan provides tuition-free technical training, month-to-month stipends, and start-up assistance in chosen vocational fields thought about necessary to Nigeria’s financial and industrial development.
The ministry specified that more than 1,700 training and trade centres across the nation presently participate in the programme, offering training in over 30 trades certified by the National Board for Technical Education.
Under the “Master 6 Programme,” students get six months of tuition-free occupation training alongside a monthly stipend of N22,500.
Participants enrolled in the “Master 12 Program” go through one year of sophisticated technical training with free tuition, lodging, feeding, and month-to-month stipends.
The Federal Government said the initiative was designed to equip young Nigerians with useful and entrepreneurial abilities while developing a pool of proficient employees for important sectors of the economy.
The intervention comes amid growing concerns over unemployment and the widening skills space within Nigeria’s labour market.
Although the National Bureau of Data positioned Nigeria’s unemployment rate at 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2024 under its revised approach, youth unemployment and underemployment stay substantially high amongst individuals aged 15 to 34.
The International Labour Organization has actually repeatedly recognized skills inequality as a major challenge to decent employment opportunities for young people in developing economies, consisting of Nigeria.
Regardless of high joblessness figures, companies in sectors such as building and construction, agriculture, renewable energy, auto maintenance, ICT, welding, and mechatronics continue to report shortages of technically proficient employees.
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Specialists have also long argued that Nigeria’s technical education sector suffered years of neglect brought on by inadequate financing, out-of-date centers, weak industry collaborations, and societal choice for university education over occupation training.
As part of ongoing reforms, the Federal Government recently renamed Federal Science and Technical Colleges as Federal Technical Colleges.
Trainees enrolled in the institutions now benefit from free tuition, feeding, lodging, and a monthly stipend of N5,000.
The ministry revealed that over 38 federal and state technical colleges had actually either been updated or rearranged under the reform programme.
To improve quality assurance and practical training outcomes, the federal government said it had actually partnered with Institute of Technical Education Services in Singapore for curriculum advancement and instructor training.
The National Service and Technical Examinations Board has likewise been designated as the sole National Abilities Qualification accrediting authority in cooperation with sectoral granting organisations.
The Federal government said the expansion of TVET programmes forms part of wider plans to improve entrepreneurship, strengthen labor force development, and lower dependence on white-collar employment opportunities.