One hundred and twenty Nigerian youths are to benefit from Aliko Dangote Foundation/ German Association for Mechanical and Plant Engineering and its Foundation for Young Talent in Mechanical Engineering (NWS) technical training programme.
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, disclosed this in Lagos during the official launching of the programme on Wednesday.
He said the programme, the first of its kind in Nigeria and which will be replicated in all the six geo-political zones in the country, was aimed at addressing the skill deficit in all key sectors of the nation’s economy.
Dangote said the landmark program was a €7 million investment, a large percentage of which he said was for the specialized, leading-edge equipment that has been shipped from Germany and installed in five workshops purpose-built for this program at Dangote Academy in Obajana, and which would be used to train the trainees.
“The trainees that successfully pass through the full vocational training will be prepared as well-rounded professionals. In addition to the technical training, they will also get personal effectiveness training of the same quality as our staff,” he said.
Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Gerd Muller, said the programme was capable of transforming and developing the economy of Nigeria.
He said the ministry has supported the initiative with €3.6 million and will not hesitate to do more for the purpose of the initiatives to be achieved.
