FG to send 14,000 artisans to UAE for work, to retrain and certify 20 million artisans in 5yrs 

In a bid to boost the competitiveness of Nigeria’s artisans in the global blue-collar workforce, the Federal government has disclosed plans to retrain and certify 20 million artisans in the next five years.  

Also, it was revealed that the Federal government through the program “Skill-Up Artisans” (SUPA) in partnership with the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to send 14,000 Nigerian artisans to the UAE for work. 

This was disclosed by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on media and publicity, Mr. Temitope Ajayi in a statement on Thursday.  

According to him, the President has mandated the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to ensure that Nigerian artisans can fully take advantage of opportunities both locally and abroad.  

He stated that President Tinubu frowned at the trend where artisans from other countries like Togo and the Benin Republic dominated the construction industry and instances where the oil companies struggled to get welders, plumbers, electricians, etc to work on their projects.  

• He said, “To boost the pool of local artisans with proficiency in in-demand skills, President Bola Tinubu has mandated the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to retrain and ensure 20 million artisans in Nigeria are properly certified over the next five years.” 
• “In the last decade, many oil service companies and IOCs operating in Nigeria have struggled to get welders, plumbers, electricians, etc to work on their projects.” 
• “More disheartening, is that builders and construction firms in Nigeria have resulted into bringing in bricklayers, tilers, carpenters from Benin Republic, Mali, Togo, Ivory Coast to deliver on major projects.” 

Objective of the SUPA initiative 

He noted that the SUPA initiative involves collaboration between the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) with the aim of standardising and licensing the training of artisans across the country.  

FG to send 14,000 artisans to the UAE for work 

Speaking further, he conveyed a partnership between the Federal government and the government of the UAE to send 14000 Nigerian artisans to the UAE for work.  

• He stated, “At the moment, the Nigerian government is collaborating with Abu Dhabi for the supply of 14,000 qualified artisans to work in UAE.”