The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) are working towards a partnership that could give a major boost to vocational and technical skills development in Nigeria.
The proposed collaboration is designed to provide young Nigerians, artisans and aspiring craftsmen with practical training that can equip them for employment and self-employment, while also giving them the opportunity to work towards internationally recognised qualifications.
The potential of the initiative was evident during a visit to one of the training centres by the ITF Director of Special Duties, Kayode Alakija, who expressed satisfaction with the progress recorded by participants after just three weeks of training.
The programme currently covers a range of trades, including carpentry, tiling, painting and decoration, drylining, bricklaying and block making. Beyond learning the technical aspects of each trade, participants are also being taught workplace safety and how to handle practical situations they are likely to encounter on construction sites.
At the carpentry workshop, trainees were already making benches, racks, rafters and roofing structures. British carpentry tutor, Andy Cranham, said the participants had moved from basic butt joints to more advanced work such as truss rafters and hand-cut roofs within three weeks.
The progress was also evident in the tiling section, where trainees constructed a mock toilet environment, installed a water closet and carried out tiling work around it.
One of the trainees, Abusuke Badare, said she was impressed by how much she had been able to accomplish during the early practical sessions.
For Mukta Oloriegbe, another trainee, the programme has provided an opportunity to learn skills that are sometimes overlooked by artisans, particularly safety practices. He noted that many artisans do not pay sufficient attention to protective equipment and other workplace safety measures.
The proposed partnership is coming at a time when Nigeria continues to face major challenges in education, employment and human capital development.
UNICEF reports that more than 10 million primary school-age children are out of school, while 75 per cent of Nigerian children between seven and 14 years cannot read a simple sentence or solve a basic mathematics problem.
The employment situation further strengthens the argument for practical skills training. The National Bureau of Statistics reported an unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, while informal employment accounted for about 93 per cent of employment.
With a large proportion of Nigerians earning a living through informal businesses, trades, apprenticeships and self-employment, access to quality vocational training could provide an important route into the labour market.
NELFUND's interest in vocational education is part of its broader effort to extend education financing beyond the traditional university system.
In November 2025, NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, announced plans to extend the Fund's interest-free loan scheme to Nigerians pursuing vocational and skills acquisition programmes.
Sawyerr had disclosed that NELFUND received 1.067 million loan applications, with 624,000 students benefiting. He also said N65 billion had been paid directly to 239 government-owned institutions, while N51 billion had been distributed as upkeep allowances.
By August 2026, NELFUND had reportedly received 1.6 million applications and disbursed more than N322 billion across 319 beneficiary institutions.
If the financing model is successfully extended to vocational and technical education, Nigerians interested in trades such as carpentry, tiling, electrical work, plumbing, painting and bricklaying could have greater access to structured training without carrying the full financial burden themselves.
Alakija said ITF was looking at taking the training model to other parts of the country. He also disclosed plans to expose artisans and master craftsmen from ITF-accredited centres to the system so they could learn how to establish and operate effective practical training facilities.
He acknowledged the concern that some beneficiaries could leave Nigeria after acquiring their skills in search of better opportunities abroad. However, he stressed that trained artisans could also pass their knowledge to others, allowing the benefits of the programme to spread beyond the initial beneficiaries.
His target is to see thousands of artisans trained in different trades over several consecutive years, creating a stronger pool of skilled workers capable of meeting the needs of the Nigerian economy.
The World Bank's February 2026 Human Capital Index Plus assessment also highlighted the link between education, skills and earning power. The report found that increasing effective years of schooling to 12 years could raise labour earnings by about 20 per cent over the long term.
Against this background, the NELFUND-ITF initiative could represent an important shift towards an education system that places greater emphasis on what people can actually do with the knowledge and training they receive.
The success of the initiative, however, will depend largely on how quickly the emerging partnership can move beyond the initial training centres and reach young Nigerians across the country.
With sustained funding, quality instructors and a strong system for certification and follow-up, the programme could help produce a new generation of skilled Nigerians who can secure jobs, establish businesses and contribute directly to the country's economic growth.
