FG unveils engineering skills devt council

The National Board for Technical Education has inaugurated the Sector Skill Council for Engineering.

This was announced by the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, during the 32nd Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria Assembly held in Abuja recently.

Bugaje described the inauguration as a historic moment for the engineering sector in Nigeria, highlighting that the SSC for engineering was joining 19 other sector skill councils already established in the country’s skills ecosystem.

“Today, we are making history in the development of the engineering profession in Nigeria, with the inauguration of the Sector Skill Council for Engineering, to join 19 others in the Nigerian skills ecosystem,” he stated.

According to Bugaje, the SSCs play a pivotal role within the Nigerian skills qualification framework.

“They are industry-led and tasked with identifying skill gaps in various sectors, developing occupational standards, ensuring quality assurance, and issuing certifications for those skills.

“The role of the SSCs under the Nigerian skills qualification framework cannot be overemphasised.

“They are industry-led and are assigned the responsibility to identify the skill gaps in our industries and the country at large, develop occupational standards, ensure quality assurance, and issue certification for those skills through the awarding body,” he said.

He further acknowledged the significant contributions of the Vice President in fast-tracking the progress of the National Council on Skills, under which the NSQ operates.

“We must commend the current VP for moving the NCS on a fast track, with the NSQ now admitted into the scheme of service and an enabling NSQF Act in the pipeline with a provision for a National Skills Fund,” Bugaje noted.

He noted that a major challenge identified by the SSC4E was the need to reposition the engineering workforce structure in Nigeria.

According to Bugaje, the current workforce pyramid is upside down, deviating from the International Labour Organisation standard of 1:5 for engineers to technicians and artisans.

He warned that if that imbalance was not addressed, Nigeria would continue to rely on imported skilled labour from countries like Benin, Togo, China, and India, as seen in various ongoing national projects.

He also stressed the importance of engaging the informal sector in formal training programmes.

He highlighted the significant role informal markets and workshops play in Nigeria’s economy, which is 75 per cent informal.

“By engaging them, we can standardise the training, offer them NSQ certification, train the master craftsmen as quality assurance assessors, and eventually COREN could license those with NSQ to operate,” he explained.

He appealed for the separation of powers between training providers, awarding bodies, and regulators in the engineering sector.

He criticised the proposed amendment to the Industrial Training Fund Act, which sought to combine those roles, warning that it could lead to unprecedented chaos in the Nigerian skills ecosystem.

Bugaje congratulated the newly inaugurated members of the SSC for Engineering, expressing his confidence in their ability to contribute significantly to the national agenda.

“I would like to congratulate the chair and all members of the new SSC4E being inaugurated today on their selection to this important national assignment,” he said.