The Federal Government has commenced the selection process for a new batch of artisans to undergo advanced technical training under its Skill-Up Artisans Program (SUPA). To facilitate this, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) announced a nationwide screening exercise designed to produce globally competitive craftsmen and technicians.
This initiative aligns with the government’s intensified efforts to develop a globally competitive workforce and reduce reliance on foreign artisans within critical economic sectors.
The screening process, which will take place across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), aims to verify the eligibility, competency, and practical experience of shortlisted candidates before they advance to the next stage of the training program.
Thomas Ngor, the ITF’s Director of Press and Public Relations, disclosed this in a statement released on Saturday in Abuja.
The Fund stated that the exercise will occur in two phases to facilitate nationwide participation.
Artisans from the North-Central, North-West, and North-East geopolitical zones will undergo screening from July 14 to July 17, 2026, while those from the South-East, South-West, and South-South zones will participate from July 21 to July 24, 2026.
The statement read, “The Industrial Training Fund has concluded arrangements for the nationwide screening of shortlisted practising artisans for the 2026 Skill-Up Artisan Training Programme.
“The exercise will be conducted in two phases across the country. Screening for the Northern Zone, comprising the North-Central, North-West and North-East geopolitical zones, will hold from Tuesday, July 14 to Friday, July 17, 2026, while artisans from the Southern Zone, comprising the South-East, South-West and South-South geopolitical zones, will be screened from Tuesday, July 21 to Friday, July 24, 2026.”
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Significance of the exercise
Speaking about the importance of the artisan training programme, Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund, stated that the program was created to address the widening skills gap in Nigeria’s artisanal sector and give local craftsmen the skills they need to successfully compete in both domestic and foreign labour markets.
He noted, “Many employment opportunities in Nigeria’s artisanal sector were increasingly being filled by foreign workers because many local artisans lacked the contemporary technical skills required by industry.”
“The Fund recently concluded the international certification examinations for beneficiaries of the 2025 SUPA programme. The examinations, which were supervised by Alberk QA Technic of Türkiye, assessed thousands of artisans across more than 20 high-demand vocational and technical trades using internationally recognised standards,” he added.
In addition, he stated that the Fund’s intervention aims to reverse this trend by exposing craftsmen to modern technologies, global practices, and internationally recognized certifications.
The Director-General also revealed that the Fund recently concluded international certification examinations for the beneficiaries of the program’s 2025 edition, describing the milestone as a major step forward in the government’s efforts to build a highly skilled technical workforce.
