Presidency and ITF Set October 15 for NIMS 2.0, Launching 10-Year Industrial Workforce Strategy

Moving from high-level dialogue to structural implementation, the Presidency, in partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), has announced the rollout of the second edition of the National Industrial Manpower Summit (NIMS 2.0). Scheduled for October 15 and 16, 2026, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the summit aims to anchor a mandatory 10-year National Industrial Workforce Strategy.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industrial Training and Development, Hon. Adamson Oluwatoyin Ayinde, noted that the framework directly addresses the skills deficit threatening Nigeria’s manufacturing ambitions. Building on foundational micro-enterprise training that has reached over 250,000 nano and small businesses via the CAC, SMEDAN, and ITF, NIMS 2.0 shifts focus toward high-value technical integration.

Key pillars of the 10-year strategy include:

Emerging Tech Integration: Accelerated certification and training tracks covering artificial intelligence, robotics, industrial automation, and renewable energy systems.

Competence Registry: Deployment of a centralized National Industrial Manpower Competence Registry co-developed with the Bank of Industry to match enterprise labor demand with verified vocational pipelines.

Apprenticeship Reform: Overhauling traditional Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) to bind technical school output directly to active industrial zones and assembly plants.

ITF leadership emphasized that capital expenditure and industrial park revamps under current economic reforms will underperform without a localized, certified technical talent pool. Private sector co-investment guidelines and partnership frameworks will headline the October assembly as Nigeria positions itself as a regional technical manpower hub.