The Federal Republic of Germany, in partnership with Nigerian organisations in trade, commerce and industry, has trained and graduated eight Nigerian youths in Technical Facility Management profession in its German Dual Vocational Training Partnership with Nigeria project.
The project, with the aim of raising employability level of Nigerian youths and reducing poverty in the country, is about three-month rigorous class training with all tools, local and foreign experts and nine-month field experience in different nominated companies.
The first aspect of the training project, which was kicked off in 2012, was in Industrial Mechanics and Industrial Electronics and it witnessed 23 apprentices graduated, while the second aspect was in Office Administration in which 11 apprentices graduated.
The project is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and conducted by Sequa gGmbH. It is steered by the CCI Giessen-Friedberg as the German project partner, while Nigerian partners include: Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian German Business Association (NGBA), Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture from Abuja and Ogun State (ABUCCIMA and OGUNCCIMA), Delegation of German Industry and Commerce (DGIC/AHK Lagos), Nigeria.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, which marked the climax of the first phase of the training project, German Consul General Designate to Nigeria, Ingo Herbert, remarked that the training was of great significance and an important contribution to the socio-economic development of young qualified Nigerians.
“It’s designed to meet the company’s needs and I am convinced that there is a huge demand for qualified, trained apprentices in whole Nigeria,” Herbert said.
Herbert, who was represented by the Commercial, Culture and Political Attaché of the Consulate General, Rene Marco Siebenhaar, while expressing optimism in the continuity of the project, said that “maybe one day we will look back and see how projects like this established a second education system in Nigeria next to its universities.”
Speaking on the timeliness of the project, Julie Chukas-Onaeko, director-general, Industrial Skills Training Centre (ISTC), Ikeja, said “the introduction of the German DVT in the country and choice of ITF as an institution to collaborate with, was a welcome idea and of advantage not only to ITF but the country at large.”
On the relevance of the training to Nigerian economy, Karl-Heinz Ketteler, coordinator, Technical Teachers, Technical School, City of Fulda, Germany, said “we need this facility in all kinds of business because Technical Facility Management is responsible to maintaining technical installations in private houses and industrial building – so we need it everywhere.”
In his welcome address, the coordinator of the project, Kehinde Stephen Awoyele, said the training was capable of giving vocational skills to unemployed youths roaming the streets and boosting employability and afterwards contributing to growth in GDP.
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