Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has presented Trade Test Certificates to 243 inmates of the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre after they were assessed in 11 vocational skills.
The certified trades include carpentry and joinery, tailoring and dressmaking, laundry and dry cleaning, poultry, leatherwork, fisheries, soap, cream, candle making, weaving and textiles, hairdressing and body care, bricklaying and masonry, and solar installation.
The presentation formed part of a product exhibition on items produced by the inmates, providing evidence of the practical skills acquired through the Service’s rehabilitation programmes.
At the event, the controller of Corrections, FCT Command, Christopher Peter Jen, congratulated the beneficiaries and highlighted the command’s efforts to equip the inmates with education, vocational training and other interventions to prepare them for reintegration into society.
Representing the controller-general of Corrections, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, the deputy controller-general of Corrections, Nicolas Obiako, described the ceremony as a celebration of transformation, rehabilitation and second chances.
He said vocational training could provide inmates with opportunities for legitimate employment and entrepreneurship after release. He stressed that rehabilitation must go beyond technical skills to include education, counselling and psychosocial support.
Obiako urged stakeholders to support beneficiaries beyond certification by providing access to tools, employment opportunities, mentorship and entrepreneurship support.
The Director, Skills Development and Certification, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Engr. Tiza Chila Shaakaa said the Trade Test Certificate of Competence was an internationally recognised credential for assessing competence in technical and vocational trades.
He disclosed that 65 trades had been approved for trade testing certification in Nigeria.
Also speaking, a representative of the Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Chris Bamsida, assured the beneficiaries that there was life after incarceration and pledged continued collaboration with the NCoS to ensure that acquired skills translated into productive opportunities.
The Gomo of Kuje, HRH Dr Haruna Tanko Jibrin, commended the Service’s rehabilitation efforts and called on traditional rulers, Nigerians and non-governmental organisations to support skills acquisition programmes in custodial centres.
A former inmate and first graduate of the National Open University of Nigeria from the Kuje facility, Chinedu Eze, presented awards of appreciation to senior NCoS officials and the NOUN Desk Officer for their contributions to inmates’ education and rehabilitation.
The beneficiaries expressed appreciation for the skills programmes, saying the initiative had equipped them with productive capacities and renewed their hope of reintegrating successfully into society.
Nwakuche urged the beneficiaries to embrace their second chance with discipline and determination, stressing that the value of their certificates would ultimately be measured by how they used their skills to build lawful livelihoods and contribute to their communities.
