Manufacturers seek real sector investment leveraging a huge youth population
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Real sector operators have canvassed for greater investment in industry to facilitate economic growth, taking advantage of the huge population of youths in the country who are eager to learn and make their impact.
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Director General Segun Ajayi-Kadri made the plea at the launch in Lagos of Knauf Training Centre and Modular Mixing Line, a German-owned company.
He said Nigeria is in dire need of skills to power the real and all other sectors, describing the country as the best place to invest because of its large population of vibrant youths, who are sensitive with great potential and willing to learn.
Despite the challenges preventing investment in the country, he added, only those on the ground when things are bad will reap the benefits when things turn around.
“Our connection with Kanuf is because they have a modular mixing line which makes them manufacturers and puts them among those who are moving and contributing to the country’s Gross Domestic Product [GDP],” he stressed.
The centre was opened by German Consul General in Lagos Bernd Von Münchow-Pohl.
Others present included German Business, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) Director Klaus Helsper; Knauf Engineering Managing Director Alexander Schütz; Knauf West Africa Regional Manager Vincent Allard; and German Industry and Commerce Delegate in Nigeria, Katharina Felgenhauer.
The centre offers theoretical and practical knowledge/skills for architects, civil engineers, and craftsmen on building finishing.
It offers up to 800 training positions a year and is jointly financed by Knauf and the DEG, with funds from the develoPPP.de program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
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Graduating 12,000 trainees in 3 years
The centre has an investment volume of about €700,000 and is part of a large-scale joint training offensive by Knauf, DEG, and the BMZ in countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia.
It plans to graduate 12,000 trainees within three years.
The training focuses on economic improvement through ensuring the masses live in homes built with environmentally friendly materials, per The Guardian (Nigeria).
Knauf Nigeria Managing Director Ihendu Okoronkwo, said the plan is to help build high-rise structures in Lagos, create a semblance with building structures in developed countries, and avert building collapse in the country.
High-rise buildings require an interior wall partitioning with the dry wall system, he stressed, which is less susceptible to molds and foreign microbial elements that result in most building collapses, Okoronkwo explained.
Allard enthused the centre would enable trainees learn how different gypsum-based building materials are processed, reiterating that Knauf complies with the highest standards of environmental compatibility, sustainable building use, and safety.
He said housing offers a huge opportunity for job creation and the training of artisans, at a discounted fee, would help them develop essential skills to grow the sector.