Kia Motors Nigeria has further deepened its commitment to human capacity development in the country through a tripartite partnership with Kogi State and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The partnership is aimed at providing the youth with state-of-the-art vocational and technical training required to keep them at par with engineers in other parts of the world.
Known as the KOICA-KOGI-KIA Project (3Ks), it aims to support the revitalisation of technical and vocational education training (TVET) in the state.
To propose an agreement that is targeted at developing the TVET project. KOICA Country Director/Regional Representative, Sook Hyun Park, and Vice President, KIA Motors, Mr. Olu Tikolo, held a meeting with Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, recently.
Accordingly, and in a bid to bridge the gap between technical schools’ age-long curriculum and fast-paced technological development, the tripartite partnership is now set to equip the interns of the schools with the technical know-how that aligns them with current advancements across the globe.
KIA is expected to provide new technologies of automotive engineering in car manufacturing and also support students of the Nigeria-Korea Friendship Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology located in Kogi State. On the other hand, KOICA will coordinate with the state government in project initiation and commencement.
KOICA and Kia have a keen interest in the project and hope that the 3Ks project would help the students’ vocational training, put them at par with international standards and ensure the long-term sustainability of the institute, and empower graduates that will propel the economy on a dynamic growth trajectory.
Kia has been an ardent advocate of human capacity development and vocational training programmes for the youth. At its assembly plant in Isolo, Lagos, over 90 per cent of skilled workers are engineering graduates from reputable tertiary institutions of the country.
The automaker also offers periodic training for the engineers to update their knowledge of innovations in the automotive industry.