FG begins screening of 15,000 applicants in Nasarawa under T-MAX:Poverty elimination

The Federal Government (FG), under project  began the screening of over 15,000 applicants in Nasarawa State to be equipped with various skills as part of the commitment to lift 100 million people out of poverty.
The screening exercise took place at various centres on Wednesday in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Speaking at the commencement of the exercise, Phobe Kasim, Nasarawa State Area Manager of Industrial Training Fund (ITF), implementing partners, said the 15,000 applicants were selected out of the over 80,000 persons that have applied.
“The screening exercise is going on in many centres and 2,000 persons will be selected for this phase of the programme.
“Those selected at the end of the screening exercise will be trained in areas such as Web development, animation, mobile development, graphic design, cyber security, coding, beauty care and cosmetology, leather works, tailoring, ICT, solar installation, building and construction, plumbing and fittings, among others,” she added.
The ITF Area Manager explained that the training would be intensive and mostly practical, after which the trainees would be given starter packs to set up their own businesses and employ others.
She also said that the trainees would be given some stipends to take care of their transportation while the programme lasts.
In his goodwill message, Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State lauded the Federal Government for the initiative aimed at poverty reduction in the country.
Sule, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Muhammad Aliyu-Ubandoma, said that the project is in line with the aspiration of the state government on youth empowerment and skills acquisition.
He pointed out that the state government has provided all necessary laboratories in the various vocational skills training centres in the state that would ensure the success of the programme.
The governor maintained that youth empowerment through skills acquisition for self reliance is critical to addressing criminality and restiveness.
Favour Yarmark and Samuel Sunday, participants who spoke to newsmen, lauded the Federal and Nasarawa State Governments for the opportunity to learn skills that would make them self-reliant.
The duo expressed optimism that they would be selected at the end of the screening exercise to benefit from the laudable training exercise.
Newsmen calls that Mr Fela Bank-Olemoh, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Education Interventions, on Sep. 6, 2022 launched T-MAX project in Nasarawa State.
During the launch, Bank-Olemoh said the project being piloted in seven states to train 15,000 citizens was one of the core interventions to achieve the Federal Government’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030.