The ES of NBTE, Prof Idris Bugaje

By Sani Idris Abdulrahman

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has begun the critique and validation of National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Homeland Security to strengthen skills development and professionalism in the sector.

The validation workshop, held at NBTE Consult, on Tuesday in Kaduna, focuses on Homeland Security occupational standards for levels 3, 4 and 5.

The Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, said the exercise would improve competency-based training and certification for homeland security personnel.

Bugaje said the Homeland Security Sector Skills Council, inaugurated about three years ago, brought together government agencies and private sector stakeholders under one platform.

He said the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Skills Nigeria Limited (SNL) served as awarding bodies responsible for ensuring quality training, competency assessment and certification.

Bugaje commended the NSCDC for its active role in developing levels 1 and 2 occupational standards for homeland security.

He, however, urged the Sector Skills Council to become more active in advancing skills development and implementation of the occupational standards.

Bugaje described Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as one of the easiest gains under the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework.

He said NBTE rolled out RPL nationwide in 2025, with more than 690 informal artisans receiving certificates across the six geopolitical zones.

According to him, beneficiaries included artisans from Panteka in Kaduna, Apo Mechanic Village in Abuja, Ikeja Computer Village and other locations nationwide.

Bugaje said the board had decided to focus the 2026 RPL programme on homeland security to strengthen competency and certification within the sector.

The Commandant General of the NSCDC, Prof. Abubakar Audi, reaffirmed the corps’ commitment to the initiative.

Audi, represented by the Commandant of the NSCDC in Kaduna, Panam Buba, said standardising occupational competencies would strengthen professionalism, effectiveness and accountability among homeland security and vigilante personnel.

He said the validated standards would improve training quality, promote best practices and ensure personnel operated within defined professional and ethical frameworks.

Audi stressed that evolving security challenges required stronger collaboration among government institutions, training providers, regulators and community stakeholders.

He described NBTE’s initiative as a demonstration of commitment to building a competent workforce with the knowledge, skills and values needed for national security.

He restated the NSCDC’s commitment to continue supporting policies and programmes promoting capacity building, institutional development and inter-agency collaboration.

Audi expressed confidence that recommendations from the validation exercise would produce robust national occupational standards for homeland security in Nigeria.(NAN)