Vice President Kashim Shettima has praised Governor Uba Sani for launching the Kaduna State Council on Skills, describing it as a benchmark in sub-national skills development. In a letter from the National Council on Skills (NCS), Shettima commended Sani for personally chairing the council, calling it a move that supports the Renewed Hope Agenda. He noted that Kaduna's establishment of a dedicated institutional framework for skills training aligns with national goals to reduce unemployment and strengthen human capital. Shettima described the Kaduna model as a key example of the "Bottom-Up" approach to vocational training, one that ensures grassroots access to technical education.
The administration of Governor Sani has set up three Kaduna State Institutes of Vocational Training and Skills Development (KIVTSD) in Soba, Rigachikun and Samarun Kataf. These centres, located across the state's three senatorial zones, are projected to train 12,000 artisans annually in skills like welding, fashion design, aluminium fabrication and solar panel installation. Graduates will receive certified qualifications through a partnership with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). Sani also plans to transform Panteka Market, home to about 38,000 artisans, into an industrial hub for trades including masonry, carpentry and metal fabrication.
Uba Sani's personal chairmanship of the Kaduna State Council on Skills is not just administrative detail—it signals a rare gubernatorial prioritisation of technical education as a core governance agenda, not a peripheral project. While many state leaders delegate such initiatives to aides or agencies, Sani's direct involvement elevates skills development to a policy centrepiece, drawing national attention through Shettima's endorsement.
This move unfolds against a national crisis of youth unemployment and underemployment, where over 60% of young Nigerians are either jobless or underemployed. By institutionalising skills training through the KIVTSD and aligning with NBTE for certification, Kaduna is building a verifiable pipeline from training to livelihood. The focus on practical trades—welding, solar installation, fashion—responds directly to market gaps, especially in construction and renewable energy, sectors where demand outpaces skilled supply.
For ordinary Nigerians in Kaduna, particularly rural youth and informal artisans, this could mean formal recognition, better income, and mobility. The planned transformation of Panteka Market into an industrial cluster may upgrade informal work into structured enterprise, offering thousands a chance to transition from subsistence to scalability.
Nationally, Kaduna's approach fits a growing pattern where state governments, frustrated by federal inertia, take the lead on job creation. If replicated, such models could redefine how Nigeria tackles unemployment—not through handouts, but through systematised skill-building at scale.
