Lagos Takes Technical Education To New Level

With the establishment of Samsung Engineering Academy designed to train and retrain graduates from the state technical colleges and the churning out of over 6,000 students from the technical colleges, Lagos State Government is no doubt taking technical education in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, to new level.

Less than two weeks ago, Governor Babatunde Fashola commissioned the Samsung Engineering Academy, built in Lagos State Technical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, in a move to reposition technical education in the state.

There have been dearth of technical and vocational skills in the country, with Nigeria losing N960 billion annually in this regard through import of technical skills.

Recently, Chairman of Odu’a Educational Trust Fund, Olabiyi Durojaiye, gave a sordid account of what Nigeria loses annually to nationals of Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana and Benin Republic among others. His account indeed struck a chord in the minds of stakeholders at the forum when he said N960 billion was being lost annually to non-Nigerians providing technical services in the country.

In a bid to reduce the capital flight, the state government initiated a strategic action plan to reverse the ugly trend. The commissioning of the Samsung Engineering Academy, specifically designed to train and re-train graduates from all technical colleges in the state is a step in the right direction.

Three months ago the government had unveiled the School Leavers Modern Apprenticeship, SL-MATP and Graduate Vocational Employability Skills, GV-ESTP programmes. The Executive Secretary of the state’s Technical and Vocational Education Board, LASTVEB, Mr. Olawumi Gasper, had said the SL-MATP and GV-ESTP were designed to stem crime rates and develop technical manpower in relevant areas of specialty.

The programme does not only exist in as a policy document. The state government has also been taking strategic steps to fully implement it. This was manifested in the official inauguration of the CG EKO LLP Automobile Training Centre in Ikeja, an outcome of the state’s partnership with Coscharis Motors Limited designed to train over 640 auto technicians and put an end to the dearth of technical professionals in the state.

These moves apparently explain why Durojaiye expressed a strong belief that the programme would help the state develop technical skills in relevant areas of specialty and further reduce crime rate and stem the trend of unemployment in the country. We can save N960 billion from nationals of Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin Republic and West African countries, who are currently working in Nigeria as artisans and technicians.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Samsung Engineering Academy, Fashola called for greater attention to technical and vocational education in the country, saying it was the only way to grow the nation’s economy both at the state and national levels. He said the drive to revitalise the state economy “explains the recent programmes of the state government to partner with industries and develop technical capacity in the areas of specialty.”

Fashola lamented a growing deficit of engineers and technicians in the country at large, attributing it to the country’s inability “to produce technicians and engineers. It is because we have a technical deficit. We need to rebuild the country. This nation is being run on an infrastructure that is about 40 years old. So, anybody who is investing in technology, in technical engineering is investing in the right place.”

The governor called for a shift to Information and Communication Technology, ICT, without which it would be difficult for the economy “to grow,” explaining that Nigeria “is moving into cashless banking. A lot of electronic data will be needed. Where are the technicians to do the job? I see them in the students of this academy and our upcoming children. We need homes. We need power. We need to produce more water. So, we are going to need the engineers and technicians in very large numbers.”

Fashola stated that the future of the country’s domestic economy “lies more in developing our technical manpower and skills than relying on expatriates. This is because that is where our power will come from. That is where our factories will come from. That is where so many things will be developed and maintained. I am convinced that we are on the right track. And this academy will be the model for electronic engineering”.

He urged other entrepreneurs to partner with the government in other four technical colleges in Epe, Ikotun, Amuwo Odofin and Ikorodu in order “to make each of them a model of one technical specialty or the other. We are looking for other partners to make any of the technical colleges a model of specialty either in carpentry, block-making or masonry. We are looking forward to such strategic partnerships with us.”

The governor gave an insight into what the state government “is doing to promote technical and vocational education”. He cited his administration’s effort to open up roads across the state in the last three months. We have been busy negotiating partnerships. We opened up an automobile workshop to impact skill. It is in partnership with Coscharis Group. We opened an e-learning Centre in Odunlami to our children.”

He dismissed  the notion that technical and vocational education is inferior to Senior Secondary School, blaming the notion on the inadequate attention, which the successive government had “to this form of education. It is a parallel education to senior secondary education from SS1 to SS3 in the orthodox school.

“What technical and vocational education provides is a three-year programme like the orthodox schools. But instead of writing the West African School Certificate Examination, they sit for the National Board for Technical Education Examination (NBTE). It is equally equivalent to WASC and with which they can proceed to the university. Our economy today requires young vibrant entrepreneurs who are willing to create and generate the wealth and employment opportunities. This is the rationale for this kind of education.”

The governor said the jobs “are there waiting. Improvement in our economy will bring about even more prosperity which will in turn mean more demand for our skills. I implore each one of you to demonstrate resourcefulness and creativity that your training has prepared you for. We can give you all of the skills, but it is now in your hands to be all that you want to be, either to learn more or to remain stagnant.”

Fashola urged them “to use their skills and knowledge positively,” noting that they “will make money through their skills and knowledge, but not by cheating and deceiving your clients. A client cannot trust you, he will spread the message round that people should not patronize you and you will lose business. This depicts a new dawn of a glorious future if every student who passes the colleges takes full advantage they offer.”

He also advised them to consider being self-employed and forming partnerships that allowed those who learned masonry, block work or electricians to come together and form small companies where each partner owned a lot, challenging them that “you must be diligent, discipline and give 100 percent to your clients always. Integrity must be your watchword and ensure that you earn trust because trust is very instrumental to being successful in your profession.”

The Managing Director of Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Nicholas Shin, said the academy was aimed at training electronic engineers who “will be relevant to the company and will be absorbed 100 percent by the company after graduation”.

However, LASTVEB Executive Secretary, Gasper, urged the graduating students “to remain loyal and good ambassadors of their colleges, “saying that great future and opportunities awaited them, especially taking cognisance of what the state government “is currently doing to transform technical education in the state.”

He said Samsun Engineering Academy “is a pilot project designed in a way that industry trainers will teach and train students in the colleges in such area as refrigeration, air-conditioning and electronics instrumentation.

“Lagos State is the first to adopt and display the use of hybrid curriculum for its technical college students. This is due to the demand of the state’s industry partners to produce high quality technical skills and youths to support the activities. This explains why the state government has adopted a hybrid curriculum in all trained areas, which consists of the NBTE National Curriculum and the industry developed curriculum. This is premised on the ratio of 60: 40 designed to meet the needs of the industry.

“It is hoped that in five years, the Samsung Academy will have offered training to at least 2,000 youths in electronics as advanced technicians”.

Mr. Francis Onipede, a guest lecturer at the graduation ceremony, urged the graduates not to play second fiddle or see themselves as second rate professionals in the society.

Onipede said engineers across the world and technicians “are proving their worth,” urging the graduates “to work hard and keep your integrity intact always. As a technician, part of the qualities needed to succeed in the profession is to always update your knowledge of the profession and network with other technical and professional group members.”