Shettima commends Kaduna’s skills council, calls for nationwide adoption

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has called for unified efforts to advance the federal government’s skills acquisition drive, declaring that the era of working in isolation is over.

Speaking on Tuesday at a meeting of the National Council on Skills (NCS) held in Abuja, Shettima commended Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, for establishing and chairing the state’s first council on skills, adding that other states should emulate the initiative.

Shettima described the skills initiative as a key pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda, noting that government agencies, public servants, and the private sector need to work in harmony to achieve the council’s objectives.

“Let me be clear: the era of operating in silos is over. We must adopt a streamlined workflow that embeds collaboration into curriculum development and funding,” Shettima said.

“This new process isn’t just for our own convenience; it is for the ambitious artisan in Kaura Namoda seeking certification; for the mid-career worker in Ebute-Metta; and for the technical colleges across the nation that need funding to become true centres of excellence.”

He highlighted the importance of this approach for artisans, mid-career workers, and technical colleges nationwide, stressing that institutional friction within Nigeria’s skills ecosystem is an unacceptable barrier to progress.

Shettima also urged the council to develop and enforce a unified structure for the skills revolution, replacing fragmentation with partnership and indecision with clear direction.

On his part, Sani said Kaduna’s Vocational and Skills Development Institute recently admitted over 30,000 students. He praised the vice-president’s commitment to job creation through skills development.