Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has approved ₦200,000 for each of the 4,050 graduates of the Kaduna State Institute of Vocational Training and Skills Development, amounting to ₦810 million, to support their transition from training to productive work.
The governor announced the financial support on Thursday at the maiden graduation ceremony of the Institute, held at the Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa Campus in Rigachikun.
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He said the fund would be administered through the Kaduna State Enterprise Development Agency (KADENSA) and would enable the beneficiaries to purchase essential work tools, provide initial working capital, pay professional registration fees or cover transportation costs while seeking employment opportunities.
Mr Sani said the initiative was part of his administration’s broader effort to build an ecosystem in which young people could become economically self-reliant and transform vocational skills into sustainable enterprises.
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“We are also engaging companies and industries to create opportunities for direct employment, apprenticeships, internships, mentorship, subcontracting and other structured engagements,” the governor said.»
He added that the state was developing a digital platform to connect graduates with employers and track their employment outcomes.
“Our measure of success will ultimately go beyond enrolment and graduation figures; it will be the number of graduates employed, enterprises created, incomes improved, contracts secured and communities transformed,” he said.
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The governor said the graduates, having qualified for National Skills Qualification Level II, represented “a new generation of skilled citizens” prepared to create value for themselves, their families, communities and the wider economy.
He said the Institute was established to equip residents with skills that are useful in Kaduna, competitive nationally and relevant internationally.
The graduates were trained in 14 trade areas, including electrical installation, welding and fabrication, aluminium fabrication, computer hardware repairs and maintenance, catering and hospitality, masonry, refrigeration and air conditioning, fashion design and garment making, carpentry and joinery, painting and decoration, tiling, plumbing and pipe fitting, solar installation and automotive mechatronics.
According to the governor, training at the Institute is deliberately practical and complemented by theory, literacy, numeracy, entrepreneurship and soft skills.
He said the Institute operates three campuses: the Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa Campus, Rigachikun; Abubakar Dangiwa Umar Campus, Soba; and Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa Campus, Samaru Kataf.
Mr Sani said the Institute’s partnership with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) enables it to deliver training based on National Occupational Standards and award National Skills Qualifications under the Nigerian Skills Qualifications Framework.
He emphasised that training across the three campuses is tuition-free, with particular attention given to women, persons with disabilities and young people from underserved communities.
The governor also highlighted the establishment of the Kaduna State Council on Skills, which he chairs, as part of efforts to institutionalise skills acquisition and development in the state.
He said Vice President Kashim Shettima and the National Council on Skills had recognised Kaduna’s approach, describing the “Kaduna Model” as a template for grassroots, bottom-up skills acquisition.
Mr Sani further disclosed that at the 6th National Construction Artisans Award in Abuja in February 2026, a trainee of the Institute, Ibrahim Abubakar Jikamshi, emerged first in welding and was named Overall Best Artisan of the Year.
The governor thanked President Bola Tinubu for his support, recalling that the President commissioned the Institute in June 2025, describing the gesture as an affirmation of his belief in Kaduna’s young people and the state government’s determination to turn their potential into productive power.
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