In a bid to contribute its quota to youth empowerment and capacity building, Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Company organised a skill acquisition programme for the youths in Ibeju-Lekki, the host community of its 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery project.
The youths were exposed to skills acquisition programmes across a wide range of vocational skills such as plumbing, welding, iron bending, auto mechanics and electrical works. The session was facilitated by the National Directorate of Employment and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
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The Details: Devakumar Edwin, who serves as the Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Group said the programme was the Refinery’s way of contributing to youth development in the country. He also chipped in a few words of advice.
“With the tools given to you today, you can be good ambassadors of this great community. So many graduates outside are still searching for jobs, but yours is different because you have been trained.
“We are good to give you our maximum support to ensure you are employed in our operations, as our host communities remain our priority. These skills given to you today can take you to various places and attract better opportunity if managed effectively,” he said.
He noted that the petroleum refining and fertilizer complex being built by the company would transform the fortune of the host communities.
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What you should know: In previous articles, Nairametrics reported that the refinery slated for full operation by the first quarter of 2020 might no longer be feasible due to few challenges stretching the timeline of completion to the end of next year (2020).
Dangote responded by stating the plants would commence operations in the next two years. However, he noted that he was expecting total group revenue to grow to about $30 billion from $4 billion. He also added that his plans include investing about 60% of profit outside Africa, including the United States and the United Kingdom.