By Job Osazuwa

In a bid to reduce the rising level of unemployment in Nigeria, especially among the youths, Federal College of Education (technical), Akoka, Lagos, is partnering Oceangate Engineering and Geophysics Limited, to train students on specialised technology-driven courses.

The Managing Director of FCE, Technical Consult, Eniknaselu Sunday Ayodele, said it was worrisome that many youths  are faced with daunting challenges in securing decent jobs due to lack of adequate technical skills and limited work experience.

He expressed worry over age-long poor knowledge base of Nigerian graduates, particularly in sectors with high need for specialised skills, such as maritime, offshore, petroleum-gas and industrial technology-based jobs, hence, the initiative by the school.

According to Ayodele, the eight-month theoretical and technical training programmes were designed to strengthen the national policy and empower the youths in those key sectors of the nation’s economy.

He announced that the programmes were highly subsidised by the Federal Government to allow more youths benefit from the scheme. And he explained that the essence of the programme was to, rather than making profit, create the gateway for more indigenous participation in the sectors that are highly dominated by foreign expatriates.

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The MD stated that the school was also committed to making the maritime industry more sustainable by developing and building the right human capacity for the industry, emphasising that Nigerian youths need sharp skills to survive the environment characterised by lack of job opportunities.

The Managing Director of Oceangate, Mogbojuri Taiwo, said his establishment, which is a certified affiliate of Nigerian Marines Council (NMC), was poised to opening the window to good employment opportunities to prospective graduates and career development in the lucrative sector.

Other benefits accruing to the partnership, according to him, are full practical exposure to maritime services, maritime cadetship training, basic trainings in maritime safety, oil tanker and shipboard familiarisation and recommendation of graduates to maritime and offshore industries.

On the entry requirements, Taiwo said a prospective student for Professional Diploma must possess SSCE (WAEC, WASSCE, NECO) or the equivalent, while students for Graduate Professional Diploma must be armed with HND, BSC, PGD and MSC in different disciplines.

He assured that the programme would adopt a tripodal approach in the delivery of the trainings, which is the best practice in the industries and human capital development worldwide. He explained that these courses were designed to expand students’ practical knowledge beyond what most universities running similar courses are offering.

Taiwo revealed that there were also further arrangements to help interested students advance their knowledge, especially in areas that require further intensive training.