You may have heard that the federal government is reviving vocational education and that the government is planning to pay N45,000 as monthly stipend to each of the beneficiaries of TVET.
This article sheds light on everything you need to know about TVET, application process, duration of training, monthly stipend, and what may hinder your application.
What is TVET?
TVET means Technical and Vocational Education and Training. It is an initiative of the Federal Government aimed at reviving practical skills among Nigerians. The programme is managed by the Federal Ministry of Education to upscale the employability of Nigerian youths in job market.
What brought about TVET?
From the colonial era through 1960s, 1970s, there were technical schools spread across Nigeria, but beginning from 1980s, the attention given to technical training began to drop. Today, some of the once glorious technical training schools are the shadow of themselves with dilapidated buildings, outdated tools while succeeding governments pay lip service to the revival of technical training.
The long abandonment has contributed to the high rate of unemployment among Nigerians, including degree holders who do not have any skills.
Data from the Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBC) say not less than 5.3% , translating to 9.87 millions, of Nigerians are unemployed in the quarter of 2024. It is believed that the number is higher than the NBC figure considering the number graduates and dropouts every year in the Nigeria.
But now government has realized that there is an urgent need to revive the technical institutes and training millions of unemployed who roam the streets. The aim is for Nigerians to combine both education and skill. That is how Technical and Vocational Education and Training or TVET was birthed under the Minister of education Dr Tunji Alausa with the support of the president.
According to the the executive secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, the revival of TVET will fast-track increase of students’ enrollment at the sub-tertiary level and to develop technical education.
As part of the plan of the government, NBTE had before now been pushing to make skills acquisition 50 percent of school curriculum.
And the the government has awarded a grant of N120 billion for the take off of TVET to motivate Nigerians to embrace skills acquisition over conventional university degrees.
What Nigeria plans to achieve with TVET
The goals set by the Education Ministry for the skill training programme are:
1) To close the skill gap in Nigeria. Nigeria has over the years abandon skill to educational degree. Degree alone can’t close the gap, that;s the reason for TVET.
2) To empower Nigerian youth to be self-employed and reliant. Skill is the best way to quickly be self-reliance
3) To create a pool of skilled workers for workers to employ from. There have been instances whereby indigenous industries have had to source skilled workers in some specialised skills from India, China and other other countries across the world.
For instance, during the construction stage of Dangote Refinery, the company had to bring in foreign skilled workers to handle some of the jobs because Nigerians didn’t have the required specialised skills they were looking for. Even though over 30,000 Nigerian were employed during the construction phase, the over 11,000 skilled workers from India wouldn’t have been so, if Nigerians are skilled in the specialised areas.
Categories of TVET Programme
- Short Term Certificate (STC)
- Vocational Education and Innovation (VEI)
Difference between STC and VEI
1) Targeted people: Short Term Certificate Programme is designed for: young people who just completed secondary school (SSCE) and are awaiting next step in their academic career; Someone who want to get a skill, who had no precious skills, and People with no formal education and would like to get a skill instead of roaming the street or doing menial jobs.
Vocational Education and Innovation Programme on the other hand is targeted at Nigerians with formal education or informal training experience and want to up their skill.
2) Duration of training: Short Term Certificate is for six months while Vocational Education and Innovation is for a period of 12 months (1 year)
3) Entry requirements: Applicants for the STC category only need their National Identification Number (NIN) and their Bank Verification Number (BVN). They do not need any prior educations qualification.
But VEI Programme, applicants need one of the following: a proof of skills acquired before, it may be through apprenticeship, which called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL); First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) or any form of non-formal education certificate from NGOs, religious institutions, nomadic education or community programmes.
What skills can I pick?
There are over 20 skills to choose from, they are:
- Vulcanising
- Fashion design
- Interior design
- Plumbing
- Digital media production
- Livestock farming
- Auto mechanic
- Motorcycle repair
- Carpentry
- Blacksmithing
- Beauty therapy
- Auto CNG Conversion and maintenance
- Furniture making
- Network System Installation
- Brick laying
- Solar PV Installation and Maintenance
- Electrical installation
- Mechanised Agriculture (Mechanics or Operations)
- Welding
- Tiling
- Interlocking
- GSM Repair and Maintenance
- Computer Hardware
- Panel Beating
- Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning
Application process
Now that you know the skills that are available under Technical and Vocational Education and Training, it is time to apply. Here is how to submit your application for TVET, whether you are interested in STC or VEI:
The application is divided into:
- Verification process
- TVET profile and skill selection process
Verification stage
- Enter your NIN and select your date of birth. The date of birth must align with the one you have on your NIN
- When you enter your NIN, the portal automatically fetches your phone number
- Enter the verification code sent to your phone number and click on proceed
- Then proceed to create a password
Profile update and skill selection stage
Then proceed to fill in your profiles. Don’t forget that your phone number is your username. And begin to fill your TVET profiles. Here, you have to filling in your: Personal details, including your state of origin BVN, Skill type etc.
- Now enter your BVN, enter your account number and your bank. Don’t make mistakes in this step as the details you have here will be used to credit you with the proposed N45,000 monthly stipend.
- Allow the system to verify your BVN, if your details are correct, it will display verified
- Then, select Skill type and select skill
Then take a quick survey about your selected skill and skill type. The survey questions are:
- How would you rate your proficiency in the selected skill?
- How frequently do you apply the selected skill in your daily tasks?
- Tell us what motivates you to learn this skill?
- Agree to the terms and conditions and submit
You should receive a message from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training about the successful submission of your application. Sample of a successful application message:
Thank you for submitting your application for Livestock Farming (Bee Keeping, Poultry & Animal Husbandry). We have successfully received your application and will review it shortly. You will be notified of any updates or changes to your application status. You will also see your application number on the TVET dashboard and the status of your application.
Where are the training centres?
The government plans to use registered private vocational centers across Nigeria, Federal & State Technical Colleges, and state-owned accredited institutions.
Registration challenges and solutions
No you can’t apply for the two programmes. You can only choose one. By the way, any attempt to have two accounts will be blocked because it involves the use of NIN and BVN.
The government is proposing N45,000 as monthly pay to Nigerian TVET students.
It is either your NIN record doesn’t tally with the phone number you entered. Check again and reapply.
It is either the name on your NIN is different from the one you have on your phone number or internet connection problem.
No. You need a phone number to complete your registration.
Try and update the phone number linked with your NIN at the National Identification Management Commission or NIMC closer to you. You can talk to NIN agent in your area.
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I’ve tried to submit, but it keeps showing error, that I should try again later, when every item on my the form was verified successfully.
Please what do I do?
Hi Eniola,
Is the name on your BVN the same with the your phone number? If yes, refresh and try again.
I made mistakes when applying can I reapply that is correct my errors
I made mistakes when applying can I reapply that is correct my errors
I didn’t receive the message that looks like this:
(Thank you for submitting your application for Livestock Farming (Bee Keeping, Poultry & Animal Husbandry). We have successfully received your application and will review it shortly. You will be notified of any updates or changes to your application status. You will also see your application number on the TVET dashboard and the status of your application.)
But I have been given an application ID number and my status is pending
I made mistake in the spelling of my name, and it’s not bringing options to edit it. Please how can I go about this