By John Ikani
Sen. Teslim Kolawole Folarin, the former Chairman of the Local Content Committee in the 9th Senate has commended the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for training 500 youths in Oyo State on solar power installation and maintenance.
The training programme was organized as part of the Board’s youth empowerment and human capacity-building initiatives. The training was conducted at Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, and it lasted for six months.
Folarin, who represented Oyo Central Senatorial District gave the commendation on Tuesday when he participated in the close-out ceremony of the training held at Ibadan. He lauded the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote for his dedication to growing Local Content and building capacity for youths of the country, noting that “If we have about 10 Simbi’s in Nigeria, our country will be a better place”.
He requested the Board to continually engage the youths with more training and contract opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
Delivering the keynote address at the event, the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics at the NCDMB, Alhalji Abdulmalik Halilu hinted that the Board initiated the programme to create employment opportunities in the country, generate wealth and empower the youths to contribute meaningfully to the economy of the nation.
Alhaji Halilu who observed that technology, skill acquisition in trades and agriculture are some of the high-impact economic sectors, harped that solar power installation and maintenance training provided an alternative source of power at homes and offices to support the national power grid in addition to providing job opportunities for the youths.
He further disclosed that as part of the end-to-end planning for the programme, the Board has concluded arrangements to register cooperative societies for the group as well as provide shops where they would practice their trades.
According to him, “the trainees will commence business as registration of cooperatives and the provision of shops in groups for the graduates has been done. This empowerment programme was aimed at providing lifelong support to youths.
He implored Nigerian youths to take advantage of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Joint Qualification System (NOGICJQS), adding that the platform is used to select participants for human capacity-building interventions and employment opportunities whenever they are available.
In her comments, the General Manager of the Corporate Communication and Zonal Coordination Division, Mrs. Angela Okoro gave an overview of the Board’s objectives and mandates stating that the Board has trained over 16,000 semi-skilled and skilled youths across the country, in furtherance of its Human Capital Development initiatives.
