The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has commenced the training of Quality Assurance Assessors (QAA) in the South-East zone.
The NBTE Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, while addressing participants at the opening ceremony of the two-week workshop in Umuahia, Abia, on Tuesday, said the project was supported by the World Bank.
Bugaje, who was represented by NBTE South-East Zonal Manager, Mrs Ngozi Okelekwe, said the training is to ensure that effective skill-based training and assessments are being undertaken for the purpose of producing a competent workforce.
The NBTE boss said the World Bank-assisted project is under the “Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS).”
He said that the IDEAS project had carried QAA training in the North East and North West.
Bugaje said: “This QAA training cohort at Umuahia has 24 participants from the technical colleges, 28 from professional associations and 24 technical partners.
“It is holding concurrently in Akure for the South West Zone and by next month it will hold in Makurdi for the North Central and Benin-City for the South South, each having a total of 80 participants.
“The Board, working with other stakeholders, is spearheading the implementation of National Skills Qualification (NSQ) training across the Technical, Vocational, Education and Training institutions, industries and general workforce of the country.”
He explained that the initiative is meant to intervene in the development of the technical colleges and skills sector in the country.
The training is to ensure that effective skill-based training and assessments are being undertaken for the purpose of producing a competent workforce.
The Project Manager of IDEAS, NBTE, Abbati Muhammad, said the project with four components is geared towards enhancing the capacity of the nation’s skills development system.
Muhammad, who was represented by Husseni Muhammad, said the relevant skills needed for the formal and informal sectors could be achieved through NSQ.
Declaring the training workshop open, Mrs Ngozi Alaribe, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Post-Basic Education, Abia, said the quality assurance training was germane.
According to her, best practices must not be compromised in the IDEAS project and the education sector in general.
She described the IDEAS project as a game changer that would lead the innovation revival necessary for massive economic growth in the country.
The training workshop, which has participants from Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo, is organised in collaboration with Major Academy Limited, Kaduna. (NAN)
