The Federal Government has officially launched a comprehensive nationwide vetting exercise to select the next cohort of technical workers for its 2026 Skill-Up Artisans (SUPA) Further Training Programme. Spearheaded by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), the initiative is designed to upgrade the capabilities of local tradespeople, foster global competitiveness, and aggressively reduce the country’s reliance on foreign technicians in critical economic sectors.
According to an official statement released in Abuja by Thomas Ngor, the ITF’s Director of Press and Public Relations, the screening process will thoroughly evaluate the eligibility, practical experience, and base competence of shortlisted candidates before they advance to specialized training.
To ensure maximum reach and convenience, the evaluation will occur simultaneously across the three senatorial districts of all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The agency has structured the verification rollout into two distinct geographical phases.
The first phase is scheduled to run from Tuesday, July 14, to Friday, July 17, 2026, capturing candidates from the northern region, which spans the North-Central, North-West, and North-East geopolitical zones. Following this, the southern rollout will take place between Tuesday, July 21, and Friday, July 24, 2026, accommodating shortlisted applicants from the South-East, South-West, and South-South zones.
Highlighting the long-term vision of the flagship human capital initiative, the Director-General of the ITF, Dr. Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, emphasized that this phase focuses primarily on active, practicing artisans to quickly address existing deficits in contemporary technical standards. He noted that Nigeria’s domestic artisanal landscape has faced heavy penetration from foreign labor due to a lack of internationally recognized certifications among local hands.
The SUPA initiative remedies this by pairing rigorous skills acquisition with business incubation services, including mentorship and enterprise support. Ogun urged all selected candidates to present themselves at their designated zonal centers on the specified dates, warning that only those who successfully clear this vetting phase will move forward to receive advanced training, modern toolkits, and international certification.