Construction Kaiser Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Strengthening Indigenous Industry

Construction Kaiser Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Strengthening Indigenous Industry

Bennett Oghifo

Construction Kaiser Limited (CKL), a leading indigenous construction company, is consolidating on its Kaiser Foundation for Social Development (KFSD), which was established in 2016 to spearhead change and strengthen the indigenous construction industry.

Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKL, Mr. Igbuan Okaisabor, while addressing the media about the company’s activities, as it prepares to mark its 25th anniversary this week, stated that beyond offering industrial, commercial and residential services, CKL is passionate about creating shared value in the society, hence the birth of Kaiser Foundation for Social Development (KFSD) in 2016. KFSD was setup to spearhead change and strengthen the indigenous construction industry.

Okaisabor said KFSD schemes include: STEM Construction Summer Camp; Mentorship Scheme; Soft Skills Undergraduate Training; Graduate Entrepreneurship Scheme (GES); Artisan Training Program (ATP); Research Collaboration; Graduate Scholarship Scheme.

CKL thrives on the belief that when deliberate effort is put into improving the indigenous construction sector, continuous business opportunities will be created and sustained.

The CEO was flanked by his management team comprising, Robert Oseghale, Regional Director/South South and South Eastern Region; Opeyemi Oni-Executive Director/Regional Director – Western Region; Ewoma Oloye, Group Head, Human Resources, Kaiser Group; and Shaibu Ikiebe, General Manager – Western Region.

The Vice Chairman said CKL is marking 25 years of providing cutting edge construction services across various sectors in Nigeria. “Since 1993 CKL has been at the forefront of providing world class construction services in Nigeria. A wholly indigenous company, CKL has successfully maintained global standards while being committed to developing local talent, empowering Nigerians and building a sustainable future.

“Starting as a small 5-man organisation carrying out minor renovation works, CKL has grown to become a national force in the Nigerian construction industry. With offices in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and staff strength of over 220 professionals, CKL has grown in leaps and bound in its commitment to provide world class services and impact the society positively.

“Over the years, CKL has created value through affiliate companies: M & E Kaiser Limited (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Installation Works) and KaiserLite; providing a one-stop construction shop.”

STEM Construction Summer Camp: This commenced in September 2016. It is an annual STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) program for secondary school students in Nigeria, within the age range of 13 -18 years or in JSS3 to SSS3 classes. The aim is to introduce students to the construction industry market segments, opportunities, skill sets and professions at an early age. The aim is ultimately to develop their interest in the construction sector. The participants also introduce them to leadership skills, team work, critical thinking, logical reasoning and ethical ways of doing things.

Mentorship Scheme: The youth mentoring programme is designed to empower youths in ‘all things construction’. It provides a platform for our STEM Construction Summer Camp Alumni (Mentees) to work during holidays, together with more experienced people (Mentors), on live training sites. The Mentors offer one-on-one mentoring sessions, site training and support on career guidance in construction, engineering, and work-life skills.

Undergraduate Training: KSFD in collaboration with the University of Lagos offers Soft Skills Training to final year students in construction related courses. The training is focused on development in Communication Skills, People skills and Leadership skills amongst others.

Graduate Entrepreneurship Scheme (GES): This scheme provides a platform for graduates to understudy professionals in the field and train as Entrepreneurs. The aim is to create ‘Construpreneurs’ in the industry. The would start the small and medium-sized companies that will claim market share, create new businesses in the construction value chain, and provide the much needed employment opportunities that Nigeria needs. It is open to Youth Corpers and fresh graduates with 0 to 2 years working experience. This scheme is expected to kickoff in 2019.

Artisan Training Program (ATP): KFSD partners with credible organizations to train Artisans on our sites. KFSD was recently awarded a grant by PIND (Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta) to train 30 participants as Artisans in Rivers state. KFSD also currently partners with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) where Kaiser group provides live project sites as training grounds for the Lagos State Employability Support Program (LSESP), which also has the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The aim is to train Artisans on how to handle construction work efficiently, with safety and quality in mind. We anticipate that this program will help improve their quality and work output, thereby increasing the market share of Nigerians in the construction industry.

Research Collaboration: Our desire to add to the body of knowledge birthed a collaboration with a research team of the University of Lagos known as Construction Industry Development Group (CIDG). The aim is to develop data that will be useful to the construction industry by gathering relevant information across topical industry issues.

Scholarship Scheme: The aim is to assist selected KFSD Mentees with financial aid for their undergraduate studies. We believe that a family’s financial status should not be a barrier to a child’s education. To enhance this scheme, we recently introduced the ‘KFSD Angels Initiative,’ to give the public the opportunity to educate an underprivileged deserving child with a scholarship.

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