Chairman Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko has called for increased training in Technical and Vocational Skills as a means bridging the unemployment gap in Nigeria.

Dr. Otudeko who bared his mind in a statement made available to FrontiersNews noted that to be among one of the leading economies in the world, there is "need to restructure our educational curriculum towards the acquisition of potentials skills."

"Worthy of note are successful and high impact developed industrialised countries, such as China, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea that have attained sustainable development through structured ans systemic commitment and investment in technical and vocational education.”

He added that he would through the Footprints Occupational Training Centres (FOTCs) set up training centres in each zone of the country including Abuja to train artisans and technicians.

The FOTCs are expected to turn out between 1000-1400 students annually.

“FOTCs trainees will have the opportunity, through the different modules, to attain recognised certificates such as : National Business and technical Examination Board (NABTEB and the City&Guilds of London Certificate.

The Footprints Occupational Training Centres (FOTCs) is an initiative of the Oba Otudeko Foundation (OOF) which is a not-for-profit organisation inaugurated in 2003 for public-spirited programmes.

Accordingly, the FOTCs is a response to the challenges posed by youth unemployment, the eclipse and dearth of essential and much needed skilled manpower in the country.

Meanwhile, Oba Otudeko has said that he would celebrate his 70 years birthday without the usual fanfare.

He said: “no newspaper advertisement or message of any kind be published to congratulate him neither would he welcome any form of public event organised to coincide with his birthday.

“Given the realisable positive impact of this initiative, Dr. Oba Otudeko would prefer that all gifts and/or planned donations for the birthday celebrations in his honour be channelled towards the initiative,” the statement concluded.