By Yemisi Izuora-Lagos
Schneider Electric a global specialist in energy management has extended capacity building in energy training to Nigerians.
The company under the training initiative, has completed the training of thirty Nigerian students from its Isaac Boro Energy Training College (IBETC) Grenoble, France.
The graduating students were the first batch of beneficiaries of the training programme which is a multilateral partnership between the Nigerian government, the French Education Ministry and Schneider Electric, designed to address the dearth of trained engineers in electrical and energy fields, especially in emerging economies like Nigeria.
The thirty trainees flew to France in November 2013 and followed an intensive 12-month program in electrical installations and equipment, medium and low voltage and renewable energies.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku emphasized that Nigeria needed more company’s like Schneider Electric to drive the development of indigenous capacity.
“This is a proven commitment towards manpower skill enhancement in Nigeria’s energy sector and we call on other companies to do same” Kuku said.
With their Certificate of Professional Competencies for Electrical Networks and Installations, specialising in Design and Operation, the technicians have become part of the much sought after skilled workforce that industries are on the lookout for, to carry out implementation tasks, commissioning and maintenance of electrical installations and equipments up to international standards.
Officials, trainers and professionals in France were all impressed with the level of accomplishment achieved by the trainees in one year. The Director of Schneider Electric France Energy Training Mr Francois Milioni reports:
“This has been a very successful year. Students have made outstanding progress and have shown great enthusiasm to learn and reinforce their technical skills.
They have demonstrated exemplary behaviour throughout the course and will be valuable assets for any organization.”
In his response, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Schneider Electric, who also expressed satisfaction at the competence and expertise demonstrated by the graduating students, said “ Our goal is to overcome the shortage of skilled manpower in the sector and this is why we are constantly identifying partnerships that aim to improve the skill sets of personnel in the sector and improve emerging economies”.
Responding on behalf of the graduating students, Master Ojoye said “This training has placed me and my colleagues on a higher pedestal of productivity and professional competence and we are grateful for the opportunity provided by Schneider Electric, Nigerian government and the French Education Ministry to acquire skill in energy management“.