NECA-ITF Skills Project Trains 87,000 Nigerians In AI, Seeks More Support

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) said more than 87,000 Nigerians obtained certification from a practical Artificial Intelligence (AI) training programme within six months through the ITF-NECA Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP).

Speaking at the Stakeholders’ Dialogue Forum and 2025 Outstanding Trainees Award Ceremony in Abuja on Wednesday, director-general of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde called for greater government and stakeholder support to expand vocational training and equip beneficiaries to establish businesses.

Oyerinde said the partnership between NECA and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) had trained and supported hundreds of thousands of Nigerians over the years through its training programmes, participating organisations and facilities.

He explained that the AI training programme, implemented in partnership with the International Organisation of Employers and Microsoft through the NECA-ITF platform, attracted 101,000 registrations within six months, with more than 87,000 participants earning certification.

According to him, the figures demonstrate the practical impact of the initiative and the potential for sustained investment in skills development to address Nigeria’s employment challenges.

He described the 17-year collaboration between NECA and ITF as an enduring public-private partnership that had survived successive administrations and leadership changes in both organisations.

Oyerinde said the model had attracted attention beyond Nigeria, with countries in Africa and Europe adopting similar approaches to collaboration between employers and public institutions.

He noted that the next phase of the initiative would place greater emphasis on the Standardised Vocational Training Programme, known as SUPA, which seeks to improve the competence and certification of artisans.

The NECA director-general said Nigeria needed skilled artisans capable of delivering quality services, citing concerns about the standard of work provided by some local plumbers, carpenters and other tradespeople.

He said the programme could help bridge the skills gap by equipping artisans with improved technical knowledge and recognised certification, enabling them to secure jobs in the private sector or provide services directly to households and businesses.

Oyerinde added that the ITF’s efforts to expand SUPA would complement the existing TSDP by creating more opportunities for skilled workers to participate in the economy.

He urged the federal government to take a more active interest in the initiative, which he said had demonstrated credible results over the past 17 years.

He said, “The AI fluency that we did with international organisation of employers and Microsoft using the platform of the NECA-ITF. In six months, we had 101,000 registered for the AI course. In six months we had 87,000 plus get certified.

This is practical AI course. If you can achieve that in six months, then you can imagine what we have achieved from 2028, 2029 when this project started.”

“The SUPA is the next phase where we are going. For many of us, we have the experience before where you call the Nigerian artisan a plumber to come and fix your house. You call a carpenter to come and leave your room. And the quality of work is quite appalling. Recently we have artisans coming from Benin Republic to come and work in Nigeria. So that is the gap that SUPA is bridging.

The outcome of SUPA will also be moving to the private sector. Because those artisans, once they get certified, once their skills are enhanced, the pipeline where they should be going to is either going to the private sector as skilled artisans or they become available for Nigerians to use within the context of doing the kind of work that they are doing.”

“Unemployment is a dangerous course that we are trying to address using multi-faceted platforms. The SUPA is a major platform that directly hits the root of unemployment. Because the more you are trained, then you have the capacity to start your own business.

That will take you off the streets. Those that we have trained here and are also getting jobs in participating organisations, they also find their way within the context of getting employed.

We are not even saying give us money. Provide infrastructure. So that we can continue to train. And so that these young ones, when they also leave, they don’t go back to the streets. They can start their own business within their household and then everyone starts contributing to national development.”