Workshop: NADDC collaborates with SSC to close identified skills gap

BY FRANCIS NANSAK, LAFIA

The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, Otunba Oluwemimo, has said the global automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation.

He made this known on Monday at the opening of a one-day training workshop organized by NADDC in collaboration with the Sector Skills Council, SSC, at the New Keffi Hotel, Keffi Local Government Area, Nasarawa State.,  ASARAWA

Represented by Mrs. Onireti Joke, Otunba commended the Sector Skills Council for the automotive industry for convening the strategic engagement. He noted that since 2016, when NADDC received approval from the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, to establish the SSC for the auto industry, skills development efforts have received a significant boost.

“The SSCs approved by NBTE are employer-led organizations that actively involve industry-based personnel, professional bodies, practicing mechanics, academia, and other key stakeholders.

“Their roles include formulating and reviewing standards of occupational competence for the sector, known as National Occupational Standards, NOS; advancing skills and workforce development for all employees in the sector; influencing how training and certification are delivered; reducing identified skills gaps; and expanding opportunities for individuals within the industry,” he posited.

For Nigeria, he added, this transition offers substantial prospects for industrial growth, skills development, job creation, investment attraction, and improved energy utilization. “However, these opportunities depend largely on the availability of competent manpower with the knowledge and practical skills required to safely operate, maintain, diagnose, and service emerging technologies,” he stated.

Otunba further emphasized that the approved National Occupational Standards for Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, and Electric Vehicles, EVs, have become particularly important.

“These standards provide the framework for competency-based skills development, certification, and quality assurance within the automotive sector,” he said.

Also speaking at the workshop, the Director General and Chief Executive of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, Dr. Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun, represented by Abdulwahab Ahmed Hassan II of the ITF Area Office, Lafia, commended NADDC for driving industrial development in partnership with the Sector Skills Council.

He disclosed that ITF is currently running a training programme called Super Skills for Artisans. “Across the globe today, skill is the currency. When you have the skill, you have everything. When their letter for this programme reached us, we saw the need to attend, as it aligns with our ongoing Super Artisans initiative,” he said.

In an interview, the President of the Sector Skills Council, Engr. Best Nnodim, commended the Federal Government for its continuous engagement with key sectors of the economy by creating an enabling environment for growth and development.

Engr. Nnodim explained that the Sector Skills Council serves as the umbrella body responsible for training and regulating automotive systems in the country to ensure proper standards are maintained.

“As stakeholders, we influence how the sector operates and deliver the training ourselves, so we understand the needs and requirements.

“We periodically come together to develop the National Occupational Standard, which the layman refers to as the curriculum,” he said.

He thanked NADDC, ITF, the academia, and other critical stakeholders drawn from various areas of skills specialization for participating in the workshop.