The Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Sir Joseph Ari, says the fund has achieved 90 percent of its targets set under the present administration.
Ari disclosed this during the fund’s quarterly interactive session with staff on Wednesday in Jos.
According to him, the fund prior to his administration, was afflicted by tendencies that were distracting the organisation from its very essence of developing Nigeria’s human capital for overall national development and growth.
He said as the chief driver of the ITF transformation train, the fund had successfully repositioned and refocused the organisation for service delivery which led to the training of thousands of Nigerians through its various initiatives.
The director-general said that the fund’s activities,especially direct training, research, automation of services and infrastructure development, had witnessed remarkable transformation in line with the first phrase of the ITF’s reviewed vision under his administration.
He also disclosed that these efforts had won the ITF several awards and commendations.
He said that only one year into the implementation of the second phase of the reviewed Vision, the fund had successfully produced the first indigenous android phone to be assembled by a Nigerian organisation.
Ari said negotiation for the acquisition of an assembly line for the production of the mobile phone was in top gear.
He further disclosed that the fund was also holding meetings with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) after which production would be rolled out.
He stated that the ITF had become a reference point for many in terms of skills acquisition.
The director-general said that Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno had sought the collaboration of the ITF to empower the youths of Borno with requisite vocational skills for self-reliance and sustainability.
Similarly, he said, the fund had received a delegation from the Bayelsa Government whom also sought partnership for equipping the youths of the Niger-Delta with requisite skills.
According to him, requests for collaborations and trainings from across the country illustrate how far the fund has come in the last five years.
Ari commended the entire workforce for the fund’s achievements as it wouldn’t have been achieved without their commitment, resilience, dedication to duty and willingness to brave all odds in the face of daunting challenges.
“ As a management we can’t be prouder of the present ITF workforce as you have shown that you have imbibed the Fund’s coveted core values of integrity, efficiency, effectiveness, loyalty, teamwork, professionalism and creativity,” he said.
The director-general, however, said that acts of indiscipline would no longer be handled flippantly, as the management had resolved to stamp out through appropriate sanctions, all negative tendencies that were obstacles to the wheel of progress of the Fund.
The leadership of the two in-house unions of the Fund, the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSACGOC) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees (AUPCTRE),all commended the director-general for providing a conducive working environment for the staff.
The President of the SSACGOC, Mr. Kayode Alakija , commended the director-general, saying that the staff of the Fund do not have welfare challenges and that the staff are united.
Alakija enjoined the staff of the union to be proactive in the discharge of their duties. He also cautioned the staff against acts of indiscipline.
Similarly, the Chairperson of AUPCTRE, Lawal Ado,charged the staff to seek for ways to improve the revenue of the Fund and to shun acts that would be detrimental to the progress of the organisation.
Reports noted that some state offices of the fund joined the meeting virtually.
