The Federal Government has begun distributing starter packs to 18,510 Nigerians trained under the first batch of the Renewed Hope Vocational and Skills Training Programme, with beneficiaries expected to use the equipment to start businesses and become self-reliant.
The program, implemented by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce poverty by providing vulnerable Nigerians with vocational skills, productive tools and support to establish small businesses.
The beneficiaries were drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
They underwent two weeks of intensive vocational training at more than 230 accredited training centres across the country.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the programme in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Programme Manager, N-POWER, Dr Nsikak Okon, said the Federal Government had put measures in place to monitor the distribution and use of the starter packs.
He said GPS technology and a dedicated monitoring system were being used to track beneficiaries and ensure that the equipment provided to them was properly utilised.
According to Okon, the government had created a portal where all beneficiaries were registered, allowing officials to monitor their locations and follow up on their progress after the training.
“We are using technology. We have already opened a portal where all the beneficiaries, the participants are enrolled inside that portal. We know their location, we track them,” he said.
He added that GPS technology would help the agency know the location of beneficiaries and monitor the use of the equipment supplied to them.
Okon also disclosed that a call centre had been established to provide support to beneficiaries and address problems they might encounter after receiving their starter packs.
The monitoring system, he said, was also designed to promote transparency in the programme and make it easier for beneficiaries to report missing or defective equipment.
“Nothing is hidden, everything is in the portal. We have opened the portal and you see what is in your starter pack. If you have any deficiency or any defects in the starter pack, you call our call centre,” he said.
He urged beneficiaries who noticed problems with their equipment to report through the established channels so that the agency could take action.
The beneficiaries received training in various trades considered important to local economic activities.
The areas covered included automobile technology, agricultural technology, baking and confectionery, carpentry and furniture making, cooking and catering, electrical installation, housekeeping and hospitality.
Others were jewellery and bead making, masonry, plumbing, welding and fabrication, fashion design and sewing, grinding machine operation, vulcanising and tyre services.
The range of trades was designed to give beneficiaries skills they could use to earn income in their communities rather than depend solely on government assistance.
Okon also disclosed that each beneficiary received N60,000 as transport allowance for the two-week training period.
He said the allowance was intended to help beneficiaries cover the cost of travelling to and from their training centres.
“Government has been so magnanimous looking at the transport. They have been so overstretched for these two weeks because they have to be in the training centre from morning till about 5 o’clock,” he said.
He explained that the N60,000 was meant to assist beneficiaries with transportation during the period of the training.
The NSIPA National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Badamasi Lawal, described the completion of the training as an important step in the government’s effort to expand economic opportunities for vulnerable Nigerians.
Lawal said a large part of the equipment being distributed had been kept in storage for more than five years before the government decided to recover, refurbish and distribute them to people trained to use them.
“These items have been lying for over five years. But today, over 18,000 Nigerians across 36 states, and FCT Abuja have been well trained for two weeks,” he said.
He said the equipment would help beneficiaries create jobs and support the government’s wider social intervention programme.
Lawal noted that the training was not limited to practical skills.
According to him, participants were also exposed to entrepreneurship development, financial literacy, business planning, customer relations and enterprise management.
He said the additional training was important because acquiring a trade alone might not be enough to run a successful business.
Beneficiaries also needed to understand how to manage money, attract customers, plan their businesses and sustain their enterprises, he said.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, said the programme was part of the Federal Government’s strategy to move Nigerians from temporary assistance to sustainable livelihoods.
Doro said the government was changing its approach to poverty reduction by linking social intervention with skills training, productive assets and enterprise development.
“This is a deliberate path to move people beyond short-term relief and invest in people’s productive capacity so that citizens can live prosperous, dignified lives on their own terms,” he said.
The minister described the approach as the “One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response” system, which seeks to create a pathway for Nigerians identified through the National Social Register.
He said the pathway would move beneficiaries from registration to skills acquisition, productive assets and enterprise development, with the ultimate aim of helping them graduate out of poverty.
According to Doro, the starter packs represented an important part of that process because beneficiaries would now have both the skills and equipment required to begin working.
He also praised the decision to recover and refurbish equipment that had remained unused in government warehouses for years.
Rather than allowing public assets to deteriorate, he said, the government had chosen to restore them and place them in the hands of Nigerians who could use them to create businesses and jobs.
Doro urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the skills and equipment provided to them.
He said the beneficiaries were leaving the programme with more than certificates because they had practical skills and tools that could immediately be used to generate income.
“You are not leaving with a certificate alone, you are leaving with a trade in your hands and the equipment to put it to work immediately,” he said.
The minister also praised the beneficiaries for completing the training despite the difficulties some of them faced.
He said Nigeria’s greatest resource was its people and that government programmes should focus on developing their skills and capacity.
The Renewed Hope Vocational and Skills Training Programme is part of the Federal Government’s wider social investment and poverty reduction efforts.
The programme comes at a time when many Nigerian households are facing economic pressure, including rising living costs, unemployment and limited access to capital for small businesses.
For many young people and other vulnerable Nigerians, vocational training offers an alternative to formal employment by providing skills that can be used to establish small enterprises.
However, access to tools and start-up capital has remained a major challenge for many trained artisans.
The distribution of starter packs is therefore expected to help beneficiaries overcome one of the major barriers to putting their skills into practice.
The government’s decision to monitor the beneficiaries through a digital portal and GPS is also aimed at ensuring that the equipment reaches the intended recipients and is used for the purpose for which it was provided.
Officials are expected to continue monitoring the beneficiaries as they establish their businesses and begin using the equipment.
The programme could also help create additional jobs if beneficiaries expand their businesses and employ apprentices or other workers.
For the government, the broader goal is to move social intervention programmes beyond temporary relief and towards measures that can help Nigerians earn sustainable incomes.
The successful implementation of the programme will depend not only on the distribution of the starter packs but also on continued support, access to markets, finance and business opportunities.
The government has therefore urged the beneficiaries to take ownership of the opportunity and use the skills and equipment to build sustainable livelihoods.
With 18,510 Nigerians completing the first batch of the program, attention will now turn to how effectively the beneficiaries can transform their training and starter packs into businesses, income and jobs in their communities.