…As NACETEM signs MOU with FUT Minna, others
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji on Thursday commended the Director General of National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), Dr. Olushola Odusanya over his move to produce technologically inclined workforce for Nigeria in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.
Chief Nnaji gave the commendation on Thursday in his address at the official signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) ceremony between the Federal Government through NACETEM and Federal University of Technology, Minna and other industry collaborating partners which held at the confetence room of the Ministry in Abuja.
The Minister stressed that the National Centre for Technology Management has been at the forefront of our nation’s technological endeavours, tirelessly working towards harnessing and disseminating knowledge, fostering innovation, and driving technological advancements in STI. As we forge partnerships with esteemed organizations from the private sector, we amplify our capacity to drive change and address the dynamic demands of our society.
He further stated that the collaboration with the academia and industry leaders in the fields of key skill-specific Post-graduate Studies, Vocational Training and ICT Certifications reflects the government’s dedication to equipping our workforce with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in a competitive global landscape. Adding that the private sector, with its invaluable expertise and resources, plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of our nation’s workforce.
According to him, by joining forces, we embark on a journey that not only addresses Nigeria’s current challenges but also anticipates and prepares for the demands of the future. This he said, is indeed at the very heart of one of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 8-point Agenda (namely) – Fostering Economic Growth and Job Creation.
The minister who expressed delight with the bold, loudable and proactive moves of the NACETEM DG, said he is delighted that NACTEM has started the magic by collaborating with Federal University of Technology, Minna; Commit Technology and Consult Ltd, Neurolinguistic Programming Limited to develop that skill that deals with technologies, hiring people who are technologically inclined and having their certificates. That way we can have people working on their computers in Nigeria and earning their salaries in dolllars.
Earlier in his remarks, the NACETEM DG said the key issue is that Nigerian economy is in need of skilled workforce. While university gives degree certificates but someone needs to take care of the skilled sector and that is what NACETEM was mandated to do and that is what we are actually here to do today.
“Gathered here are some industry leaders who will help us to improve the skill workforce of Nigeria. In recent times, we are beginning to have situations where Polytechnics are converted to Universities whereas in any job journal, what you find is that 70% of most of the people you may employ are vocationally trained.
According to Dr. Odusanya, while we begin to migrate away from education where those who are supposed to train critical manpower for us are now having migrated into other system, it becomes a potential challenge when this country is going to leap-frog into production and industrialisation, we may find a situation where a critical workforce is not there. So NACETEM has designed the “Finishing School” where we train middle and high level manpower and it is in realization of our mandate that we are here today to bring industry practitioners that will help us finish some of our professionals that will train in our institutions and all of that in order to get critical skills needed. We are therefore precipitating the beginning of NACETEM Academy.
The NACETEM Academy is a whole story of professionals, people who knows how to get things done and people who are ready from day one when you recruit them. Today, when you recruit the average person, the person now has to train and retrain them. But we want to create a situation where we have hundred of thousands of people who are here for the job and that is why seating with me today are the members of the different partners we want to work with.
Sundiata Post recalls that those in attendance were; representatives of the technical partners, namely, the Vice Chancellor of FUT, Minna, Professor Faruk Adamu Kuta, the Country Representative of NLP Limited, Mr. Rajiv Sharma, and Executive Vice Chairman of Commit Technology and Consult Limited, Dr. Niran Oyekale. Others are; the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr. James Sule, the acting Director of Legal Services in the ministry, among others.
