Nigeria’s leading engineering construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, in an effort to bridge latent skills gap in the engineering industry, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Armed Forces Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Mechatronic School (AFEME) to towards the training of its personnel and students.
A press statement by the company’s media relations office noted that Head of AFEME Mechatronics School and the host of the event, Capt. Mohammed Idris, while speaking at the MoU signing, described the day as a ‘momentous one’, as the signing of the MoU between the cchool and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc signified another key mileage in the company’s consistency of purpose and proactive contribution to the country’s industrial and technological development and industrial advancement.
“This alliance is important since it will foster a skilled workforce in the field of Mechatronics, aligning with the ever-evolving demands of the industry; and contribute significantly to the growth and advancement of the Mechatronics sector in Nigeria,” Capt Mohammed stated.
He emphasized that the emerging shared vision for the future will bring about a competent, innovative, and adaptable workforce, just as he congratulated the school and company for the bold step towards shaping the future of education and professionalism in Nigeria.
On his part, the Head of Julius Berger’s Plant and Equipment Department, Francois Roos,
who in conjunction with the Human Resource Department coordinates the work of the academy, said Julius Berger seeks to further enhance the company’s and country’s productivity by proactively taking initiatives to develop the capacities of young minds.
Taking that into consideration, he said, “We have to train people for the future because if we don’t we will not be able to contact the benefit of the future offices and for us, at Julius Berger that is very important, and yes, it is the future of the young people, but we also have to sometime train some more people; so that they can also help to give the experience of the past to the younger people.”
Also, speaking during the MoU signing the Head of German Technical Advisory Group said, he would appreciate if Julius Berger becomes the representative of industry, as the national industry will support in developing the new plan because it is a bit bigger than what we can see in AFEME at the moment.
He explained that the mechanics needed to know how to operate the machines; but this is the basis, and we will do a good job. It is indeed going to be a very big one because it will help develop cooperation in Nigeria and of course, the experience in the industry.
Roos agreed with Col Abel who said that progress depended on the perception of the future of things to come.
