NASENI Moves to Save Artisans from Job Loss, Trains 100 in Ogun
James Sowole in Abeokuta
Determined to check influx of artisans, who often come to take jobs of Nigerians and in continuation of its skill acquisition training and youth empowerment, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), has begun a four- day training programme on electrical installation and maintenance.
The training, which involved about 100 participants, was the second in the series, after NASENI and its team of trainers organised capacity building programme, in modern plumbing and installations for some youths in Ibadan, Oyo State, as part of the first-phase of regional skill development programme.
The four day training, with the theme “Modern Methods of Electrical Installations and Maintenance”, was held in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government area of Ogun State and drew participants from the tree Senatorial districts of the state.
Speaking at the opening of the training, the NASENI Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Mohammed Haruna, noted that the development in cutting edge technologies or frontier technologies are the innovations that are shaped by the fourth industrial revolution.
Haruna, who was represented by the NASENI Co-ordinating Director, Finance, Ibrahim Dauda, said all aspects of engineering technologies, require electricity, as well as advanced electric energy.
Haruna said: “Electrical installation, repairs and maintenance will no longer be metre conduiting, piping or trucking of cable channel and streaming overhead conductors only. It is beyond provision of lighting points and socket outlets. Rather it is about automation remote sensing, remote control and wireless operation.
“The practitioners’ knowledge needs either regular update to remain relevant and be able to get employment, remain employed or even create jobs for others.
“This training is therefore to familiarise the trainees not only on the current advances of new and emerging technologies in electrical installations, repairs and maintenance, but to also prepare, equip them and build adequate competencies to meet the challenges and opportunities of the development anticipated of the shape and nature of the next industrial revolution.”
Haruna added: “What we are doing today is what NASENI is doing to put a stop to it (foreign artisans incursion) by empowering even the existing skilled manpower in modern way of doing things and upgrading their skills.
“That is exactly the directive of Mr. President to NASENI, to ensure that we do all this round the whole country. We have done this in various states, we have done it Kastina state, Nasarawa state, Borno state, Cross River state, Oyo state, we are going round everywhere to make sure at least we start with 100 youths so that they too can be train the trainers to train other people in this modern way of doing things.
“At the end of the day, these influx of people coming to all these skill works will be reduced if not completely eliminated that is the target of NASENI by going about doing this skill acquisition programme.”
According to him, Nigerian artisans are not in high demand in the market because many of them do not possess the right skills required in the industry.
He said:”President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives to us to ensure development of skills of our teeming youths necessary for job creation and self-employment generation.”
The executive vice chairman, commended, the senator representing the Lagos West and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Ogun West, Solomon Adeola, for collaborating with other senators, to ensure that NASENI, was brought to the presidency, which insulated the agency from bureaucratic bottlenecks.
In a remark, the former deputy governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salimot Badru noted that lack of required skills had made youths to lose jobs to foreigners, adding that the NASENI skill acquisition programme would address the dearth of skills among the youths.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) noted that the programme was a product of the executive-legislative collaboration aimed at building cognate capacities and improvement in skill of the youths in the energy sector.
Adeola, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Kayode Odunaro, said the training was an addition to “my numerous facilitations of various skills acquisition training and empowerment that had over 10,000 beneficiaries across Lagos and Ogun State.”
He said: “This presidential initiative through NASENI is a veritable way of creating a pool of skilled professionals that would not only be gainfully employed but have potentials to equally generate employment for others in due course. The other benefits of the programme beyond employment are curbing youth restiveness and other vices that crop up with youth idleness and disenchantments.”
In his remarks, the National Vice President of Licensed Electrical Contractors Association of Nigeria (LECAN), Yinka Akintomide, urged the participants to make use of the knowledge and tools given to them by the organisers of the training.
“Some people call you roadside electricians, now you will prove them wrong with this training you are getting here today,” Akintomide said.
