In order to celebrate excellence in construction trade skills and encourage youths to take up careers in the construction trades, the maiden edition of Construction Artisans Awards and Jobs Skills Expo was held in Abuja.
The three-day event which brought together construction artisans from the various regions of Nigeria was organised by Construction Skills Training and Empowerment Project (C-STEmp).
Viewpoint Housing News reports that C-STEmp has been working towards promoting creativity, innovation and craftsmanship among artisans.
It is empowering Nigerians to get jobs which are mostly given to foreigners.
It was borne out of need to generate interest in the construction trades like: masonry, concreting and plastering, carpentry and joinery, welding and steel fabrication, plumbing installation, electrical installation, tiling and decorative stone work and painting and decoration.
In his opening remark, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of C-STEmp, Mr Ugochukwu Chime explained that the expo was to equip artisans for the better performance and improve Nigeria’s construction industry.
He said, “The event will herald a remarkable transformation not only in the lives of many of our compatriots, especially the target beneficiaries who are the teeming masses of unemployed youths and other stakeholders, but also in the performance of the construction industry and the quality of the built environment.
“As a nation, we are living witnesses to the frustration, anger and confusion in the land, which we believe can be addressed through vocational skills acquisition especially in the construction sector which has huge employment generation prospects.
“The primary challenge to vocational skills development stems from the negative social image, perception and attractiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), not only in less developed countries like Nigeria but also in developed countries.”
Chime thanked stakeholders for their support.
The major stakeholders include: the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Social Investment Office (NSIO), Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Nigeria Institute of Builders (NIoB), the Federation of the Construction Industry (FOCI) and Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN).
Dignitaries at the event included: Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education Sunny Echono, Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Youth Development Afolabi Imoukhuede, Former Minister Gabriel Aduku, President Nigeria Institute of Builders (NIOB) Kenneth Nduka, and CEO Construction Industry Training Board of Northern Ireland (CITB NI) Barry Neilson among others.
Artisans showcased their skills, competed in seven major building trades and were given awards.
