The federal government is poised to hold a stakeholders meeting that will brainstorm on proposals forwarded by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) aimed at articulating strategies that will create 15 million jobs.

The meeting which will take place in Abuja on May 27 will be chaired by the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah. 

The move is however, apt as federal government will be responding to the rising unemployment rate in the country our correspondent reports. 

In a statement signed by the funds Head of Public Affairs, Suleyol Fred Chagu, the ITF stated that the one-day event is expected to attract participants from over 60 public and private sector organizations, who will consider a report by the ITF on job creation strategies produced by the fund at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

“The report which focuses on four sectors of the economy namely, agriculture, construction, transport and the service sectors are deemed to have the greatest potential for job creation projection that about “15 million direct and indirect jobs will be created if the ITF proposals are fully implemented,” the statement said.

However, highlights of the report indicate that in the area of agriculture, which is the major pre-occupation of Nigerians and a key focus of the Next Level agenda of the federal government, a significant number of direct and indirect jobs will be created along the agricultural value chain through the implementation of the following programmes, “the Vegetable Value Vantage (TRIPLE V), Livestock Production (LIPRO) and Women Driven Agricultural Mechanization Programme (WODAMP). 

“In the construction and services sectors, over hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs will be created using the Mass Housing Development Projects (MAHODEP) and Rural Transportation Empowerment Programme (RUTEP), the Mega City Travel – Rail Based (MECIT-RB) and Mega City Travel–Bus Based (MECIT-BB) initiatives, the Infrastructural Maintenance of Government Structures (IMOGS) in the transport sector and in the services sector using Auto Diagnostics and Services (ADASE), Environmental Waste Management (EWAM), Renewable Energy Services (RES), Creative Arts and Digital Media Programme (CADMEP) and Service Hubs (SE-HUB).” 

Chagu said with the mix of technocrats and captains of industry that will be in attendance, the federal government expects that what emerges from the meeting will lead to tangible and effective solutions to the unemployment problem in Nigeria.