Skills acquisition: Rector calls for improved female vocational training

In order to build a stronger and sustainable economy for Nigeria, the need to train more females on skills acquisition and technical education has been stressed.

Mashood Elelu, rector, Kwara State Polytechnic, who stated this at the opening ceremony of Women in Technical Education and Employment (WITED), National Coordinating Committee (NCC) meeting in Ilorin, the state capital, said women play a versatile role in the labour economy, which is why they need to have quality education so as to function properly in the society.

“We cannot have a strong economy without good labour force, and good labour force is made up of both men and women.

“Irrespective of your qualification, without skill, you cannot survive. The population of women in Nigeria is more than men and it keeps increasing. Therefore, I want charge members of WITED to keep organising vocational training for young generation particularly girl – child and use the opportunity available to them to improve the welfare of women in terms of providing adequate information that would be useful to their career.”

The rector, who is also the chairman ofd Committee of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology (CHEADS), said the Federal Government has set up a committee for skills competition for girl-child across the country to build the capacity of women to manage their home properly.

In her address of welcome, Adijat Bukola Aiyelabegan, WITED coordinator at the state polytechnic,  explained that WITED is an organisation started in 1988 by Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA) to operate in African polytechnics and colleges of technology with the mandate to identify and confront those factors which inhibit the significant participation of the girl -child in science, technical and vocational education training (STVET) programmes at all levels.

She noted that in Nigeria, the Council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology (CO-HEADS), since inauguration in October 1997, has collaborated with and has tremendously been of assistance to WITED to enhance the noble goals.

“Today, WITED exists in about 50 Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology across Nigeria.”

In her submission, Regina Ada Amadi, the national coordinator of WITED, pointed out that the association was formed majorly to better the lots of women in technical education sub-sector to contribute to the National growth.

 SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin