The Managing Director, Nigerdock, Mr Adebola Adesoye has advised secondary school students to choose careers in the marine profession to enable them fill the existing gaps in the sector.
Adebola made the appeal when the Convener, Ocean Ambassadors Foundation, Mrs Violet Williams, and some students visited Nigerdock facilities in Lagos recently. Nigerdock, he stated, encourages students to visit its facilities, not just because they are students, but because it believes that youths are the leaders of tomorrow.
According to him, “This is the best time to start building the personnel that will take over from the people that are retiring from the profession. We have a succession plan at Nigerdock, whereby we groom younger folks to take over from the older ones who have worked for 10 years to 25 years and are due for retirement.
“We have quite a number of youth corps members currently learning on the job; they see what we do and are prepared to take over from people retiring. Apart from shipyard, we also do fabrication, logistics and are a service company.
“We have been urging the government to ensure that there are projects in the system so that employment of personnel will be guaranteed, so also training for students and other employees will be guaranteed.’’
He urged the students to ensure that they visit the company at least twice yearly to enable them build more interest in the maritime profession.
The Nigerdock boss said before they could excel in maritime operations, they needed to acquire knowledge and training on the profession. Adebayo said before he became the managing director of Nigerdock, he had been working with the company as a youth corps member since 2009 adding that he rose through the ranks in different departments.
