Nigeria: Strong private sector involvement in TVET

In the project “Cooperative Vocational Training in Nigeria” funded by the GIZ, sequa is cooperating with the umbrella organization OPSN (Organized Private Sector of Nigeria), which brings together the five major business associations in Nigeria: MAN (Manufacturing Association of Nigeria), NACCIMA (Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture), NASME (Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Scale Enterprises), NASSI (Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists) and NECA (Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association). With the support of sequa, the OPSN founded a Sector Skills Council for Textiles, Apparel and Garment (TAG) on August 3, 2023 (see newspaper report "This Day" of August 15, 2023), whose role will be to give the sector a new basis for the qualification of skilled workers. The role of the private sector is, in particular, to develop for the first time a professional standard - a novelty in Nigeria so far. On this basis, a needs-based curriculum for vocational training in the textile sector will be developed together with the public sector (institutions and ministries responsible for vocational training). The aim is to eliminate the often complained deficits of graduates and to train professionals in the textile sector who are actually prepared for their tasks. The newly founded Sector Skills Council (SCC) serves as a model for further SCCs in other sectors that are to follow.