By Bolaji Ogundele,The Nation

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Vice President urges states to back govt’s skills agenda

Kaduna Governor Sani hailed for pioneering skills council

Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for stronger collaboration among federal, state, and private sector stakeholders to drive the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s skills acquisition agenda.

He announced that “the era of working in isolation is over”.

Shettima spoke at the seventh meeting of the National Council on Skills (NCS) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Vice President described the current administration’s skills revolution as a central pillar of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises human capital development and job creation.

In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, VP Shettima said: “The skills revolution is one of the covenants this administration has entered into with the Nigerian people.

“Let me be clear about what this means. The era of operating in silos is over. We must move towards a new streamlined workflow that embeds collaboration directly into the process of curriculum development and funding.

“This new process isn’t just for our own convenience; it is for the ambitious artisan in Kaura Namoda seeking certification; for the mid-career worker in Ebute-Metta; and for the technical colleges across the nation that need funding to become true centres of excellence.”

The Vice President hailed Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani for establishing and chairing the first Kaduna State Council on Skills.

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He described the move as “exemplary” and urged other subnational governments to replicate the initiative.

Shettima urged government officials, public servants, and the private sector to work together.

The Vice President added: “Fulfilling such a promise is not contingent on inter-agency harmony; it demands it. We have to unite. We simply cannot build a future-ready workforce on a foundation of division.

“We must replace fragmentation with a framework for partnership. We must replace indecision with a clear and resolute path forward. Let’s move from this room to the work of implementation with a single mind and a shared purpose.”

Governor Sani said the Kaduna Vocational and Skills Development Institute recently admitted more than 30,000 students.

The governor thanked the Vice President for his commitment to ensuring that the council achieves its objectives.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, lauded Kaduna State’s initiative in facilitating President Tinubu’s commissioning of the Institute of Vocational Training and Skills Development.

The minister noted that in line with the Federal Government’s skills acquisition drive, technical colleges nationwide have been directed to prioritise relevant courses in the new academic year.