The Nasarawa state government-owned Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute located in Lafia, has been rated by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), as the best skills training centre in the country.
The deputy director and head of the National Skills Qualifications (NSQ), Engineer Ja‘afaru Garba, disclosed this to journalists in Lafia.
Engineer Garba, who led a team from the NBTE on accreditation exercise at the institute, said skills have become the global currency that can address the challenges of unemployment, joblessness and out of school children going by the global trend.
„The good with having a skill is that, you don‘t have to provide a job for well trained skilled personnel. He won‘t even go for that white-collar job. He would rather set up his own workshop and start practicing his profession,“ he said.
According to him, the state is the first among its peers in the country to have to hearken the call by the board for the establishment of a skills training centre.
The NBTE team as particular impresses that there are over 40 different occupational areas at the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute.
„We are happy to see that you have about 40 occupational areas. This is the first skill centre we are going to approve with so many skills areas. The NBTE is very happy with this,“ the team leader said.
He was elated that a trainee of the NBTE, Dr. Daniel Asele Ewuga is the Executive Director of the institute.
„Initially, the application we received was to come for advisory visit. When we started communicating we discovered that we have our own trainee who is heading the centre. Apart from the doctorate degree, we gave him another qualification as Quality Assurance Assessor, an internal quality assurance manager.
„We said we don‘t need to come for any advisory visit. You already have your adviser. Any advice you are looking for in NSQ, Dr. Daniel will give it to you because we have trained him on QAA. Our duty here is to come and check the resources available and that you conform with the regulations of the regulating agency,“ he stated.
Responding, Governor Abdullahi Sule said he was motivated to establish the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute following the difficulties in getting certified technicians at the start of the construction of the Dangote refinery.
He recalled that that Dangote was forced to recruit 4000 certified technicians from India before work on the refinery could commence.
„Some of those vessels, phalanges, pipes and some of the heavy equipment like the distillation unit which is virtually an equivalent of a 40-storey building, the original manufacturers will not allow just any kind of welder or fitter to touch them. They were looking for certified welders. No matter how good a welder is, they wanted him to be certified. They were looking for certified fitters. You won‘t believe that we have to go and bring in 4000 of those certified technicians from India before work on the refinery actually commenced.
„This is the dream I have. I am looking forward to a day when they are looking for 4000 certified technicians and they say, go to Nasarawa State you can find those certified technicians. This is the dream,“ he said.
The governor said it is also part of the vision for establishing the institute for younger retirees, not just fresh graduates to be provided with skills for self-reliance.
Commenting on the accreditation, he called on the NBTE to undertake the exercise with open mind with a view to identifying lapses that needs to be corrected with a view to giving the trainees the best.
„Don‘t be carried away that this is the best you have seen in the country. I want you to be open minded. Go and pick out some of the areas of improvement. That is the kind of certification we are looking for,“ he said.
He empathized the importance of the NBTE assessment which would ensure that the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute meets up with the required standards.
„Because it is very important for you to make these kinds of visits even if we are doing it right, we need somebody to come and tell us you are doing it right. It helps us to be on the same page with the global trend. I am a well traveled engineer and I know that it is one sector that is constantly changing. Technology is changing every day. There is constant research as far as technology is concerned,“ he noted.
