Adewale Banjo
Managing Director of a technical service company, Equilog, Aaron Iyama, has called on governments, at all levels, to invest more on training the youths on skills acquisition in order to eradicate unemployment in the country.
Iyama made the call in Lagos at a free training programme for crane operators organised by Equilog Institute.
He said there is need for government to invest more on training the youths on skills acquisition to eliminate kidnapping, youth restiveness and unemployment rate.
“Today, with the high level of development in the real estate industry, oil and gas, construction industries in Nigeria, crane operators are in high demand. The unique skills, crane operators bring to a job are essential for the completion of most projects.
“With the rapid increase of large modern structures, combined with the constant need for operators to load and unload heavy products and container on shipping docks, there is an increase number of opportunities for careers in crane operators.
“The Bureau of Labour statistics have said crane operator jobs are expected to grow eight percent from 2014 to 2024. This is slightly above the national average for the universal job market but above the national average for highly skilled jobs. It is safe to say the success of the crane industry contributes to the creation of secure jobs.”
While speaking on the training, the managing partner of Equilog said about 2,000 people have been trained on mobile crane, excavator, forklift and pay loader.
The firm equipped participants with general safety knowledge before certifying them with HSE competent. To work in a construction site, it is a prerequisite that candidates obtain a tailored construction safety training.
“Our knowledgeable instructors come from various industry background and have valuable insight into specific need for clients.
“We are proud to train a good number of operators with global safety standard and in-house instructors per year, and to work with over dozens of firms.
“In the process of switching career paths or a young school leaver looking for a career outside the corner of office setting, Equilog come with the requisite expertise to make that dream a reality.”