Funmi Ogundare
Twenty female engineers have benefited from the Margaret Aina Oguntala Capacity Development Academy (MAOCADA) instituted by the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), to upscale the capacity of young female engineers, enhance their professional skills in order to achieve improved technical proficiency and professional confidence.
The capacity development academy is in honour of the first female Deputy President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs. Margaret Aina Oguntala.
The beneficiaries who were selected from amongst 150 applicants, will go through a six months training at Kenol Engineering Company Limited and Universal Learn Direct Academia ( ULDA).
Speaking at the maiden edition/flag-off of the initiative, yesterday in Lagos, the President of APWEN, Dr. Elizabeth Eterigho, noted that the academy is targeted as Nigeria’s premier advance technical, vocational, entrepreneurial and life skills learning programme that will create a generation of self-sustained and employable female youths, particularly young engineers.
According to her, “the programme will provide a viable pipeline of skilled female engineers to either establish their own entrepreneurial ventures or been in high demand for the industries.”
By so doing, she added that the employment landscape will become more competitive and creative, thus reducing the level of unemployed and unemployable females in the country.
“Particularly, now that the federal government is focused on diversification, the economy and industries are requiring specific skills from potential employees,” she stated, adding that technical skill, will bring about the provision of access to basic, nonformal/formal skills.
“The shift from paper qualifications to competencies makes the emergence of this Margret Aina Oguntala Capacity Development Academy, very strategic. In addition, if the economic reform goals of the Government are to be met, a productive, competent, and flexible workforce is non-negotiable. With a developed crop of sterling professionals with a broad spectrum of experience in the engineering, vocational, human management and entrepreneurship sectors, the programme will unveil a new approach in skills education in Nigeria,” Eterigho noted.
The president however, called on corporate organisations who appreciate the place of women, particularly female engineers in national development, to support APWEN on the initiative, and appealed to the trainees to maximise this rare opportunity to excel.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and President of NSE, Tasiu Sa’ad Gidari- Wudil said the programme was apt coming at a time when society is trying to promote the skills of members. He urged the beneficiaries to take active part in the training.
In her remarks, Mrs. Margaret Oguntala in whose name the academy was instituted, noted that APWEN was able to align with her mission of helping younger women engineers.
” It is a fundamental programme expected to impact the lives of younger women”, she said, adding that with time, the men will be impacted.”
Chief Executive Officer, Kenol Engineering Company Limited, Olu Ogundiyile said his organisation has created a culture of training people and creating career for a living.
“We have apprentice training program for school leavers to become technicians in the areas of electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, communication installations which has been running for more than 25 years now. We also introduced the graduate training scheme for
graduates of universities and colleges of technology some sixteen years ago to help them develop practical engineering skills through on-the-job experience over a period of times.”
He appealed to the beneficiaries to “know what you are living for, be determined to be transformed and have a purpose to be a transformer yourself, justify the confidence reposed in you and be a solution to the socio-economic challenges of our nation.”
The Dean of Faculty, Universal Learn Direct Academia ( ULDA), Babatunde Faleye expressed concern that most people see others who are skills acquisition such as bricklaying, masonry, tiling, etc as second class citizens, adding that there are a lot of graduates out there, who are jobless.
He noted that there are jobs in the construction industry that could be taken up by graduates who are ashamed of taking up these roles in the country and prefer to travel out of the country to take up same roles.
He stressed the need for the country to include the trade subjects in schools’ curriculum so that even if graduates are unable to get while collar jobs, they will have something to fall back on.
President of ULDA, Chief Olawumi Gasper said though NSE is a strong advocacy group, but has not used up its power.
He stressed the need for the country to change the narrative about youths employment and ensuring that skills acquisition and entrepreneurship leads to wealth creation.
The Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele stressed the need to make vocational training more attractive to people and increase confidence about it in technicians, rather than emphasy on certification.
