The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Mr Uche Nnaji, says Nigerian welders need training and International Organisation for Standardisation certification in order to boost manpower for socio-economic development.
Nnaji spoke at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Centre for Technology Management, academia, the private sector, and industry players for vocational skills certification on Thursday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that ISO certification entails that a management system, manufacturing process, service, or documentation procedure has all the requirements for standardisation and quality assurance.
The minister said the Federal Government, via the Nigeria Welding Institute, would set up training hubs in the six geopolitical zones of the country to train welders and issue them with ISO certificates.
He regretted that the country was lacking in certified artisans and manpower.
Nnaji assured all that with the ISO certification, Nigerian welders would be fortified to be gainfully and professionally employed within and outside the country.
“NACETEM has kick-started the magic by collaborating with the Federal University of Technology, Minna, the private sector, and industry players to develop skills that deal with technology,’’ he said.
The minister said the MoU between NACETEM, academia, and the private sector was a milestone that would facilitate the process of hiring Nigerians who were skilled and technologically inclined.
Earlier, the Director General of NACETEM, Dr Olushola Odusanya, said that though Nigerian universities issued degree certificates, skills development and certification were part of the agency’s mandate.
He said the partnership with the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Commit Technology, and Nero Logistics would bolster postgraduate studies, vocational training, and ICT certification in Nigeria.
“NACETEM has designed a finishing school to train middle- and high-level manpower. In realisation of our mandate in the job market, 70 per cent of employed individuals are professionally trained.
“We are addressing the potential challenge of a shift from training physical manpower to other systems,’’ Odusanya said.
The NACETEM DG also disclosed the commencement of novel programmes such as a Master’s Programme in Nanotechnology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Technology Management.
“We had one before, but it was not done within the ambit of the law, so we are correcting that,’’ he added.
Odusanya said that efforts were underway to set up a Master’s Degree in Digital Marketing and a new linguistic project, all of which would be domiciled in FUTMinna.
He also spoke about setting up a digital blood donor bank with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research.
He further noted that such a move would help identify who the blood donors were, and in cases where there were issues of need, the database would be readily employed.
Odusanya hinted that the aforementioned efforts were in preparation and prelude to the NACETEM Academy.