Dangote Group says it has trained no fewer than 10,000 employees through the Dangote Academy.
Group Executive Director of Dangote Group, Mr. Victor Edwin, noted that this was to address the industrial skills gap in the country.
Edwin disclosed this during the inauguration ceremony of Junior Technician Scheme, Batch 3 & 4 of the company.
He further revealed that the company embarked on the 18 months training for the selected students to promote the acquisition of technical skills and leadership ability meant for capacity development and empowerment.
Mr Edwin while speaking at the inauguration of the new trainees at the Dangote Cement plant in Obajana noted that industries in the country can no longer rely solely on university graduates and colleges of technology to provide the specialised technical and managerial training required to run major modern industrial factories.
It is expected that at the end of the 18 months training, the trainees will become master technicians in any or more of the following areas such as; electrical installation and maintenance, automobile maintenance and instrumentation, welding and fabrication, machining and fitting and mechanical maintenance.
The Dangote Academy was established in 2010 to provide training in technical and management skills for employees and people wishing to join the Dangote Group of companies.
The Academy currently runs different capacity development training
- The Graduate Engineers Training Scheme is designed to enable young engineers to pursue a career in Dangote. The scheme which prepares fresh engineering graduates with the necessary technical and supervisory skills to become team leaders.
- The Vocational Training Scheme offers training for students in basic trades such as welding and fabrication, fitting & mechanical maintenance, heavy-duty automobile maintenance, instrumentation and automation, electrical maintenance and process operation.
- The Junior Technician Scheme is the latest addition to the Academy’s learning initiatives and was conceived as a supporting scheme to the VTS.