Segun Ajayi-Kadri, Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has advocated for more investment in the industrial sector to help the country’s economy grow.
While speaking at the launch of a German-owned company, Knauf Training Centre and Modular Mixing Line in Lagos, Ajayi-Kadiri stated that the country’s industrial sector and other parts of the economy are in desperate need of skills.
Dr. Bernd Von Münchow-Pohl, Consul General of Germany in Lagos; Mr. Klaus Helsper, Director, German Business, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG); Dr. Alexander Schütz, Managing Director, Knauf Engineering; Vincent Allard, West Africa Regional Manager, Knauf; Katharina Felgenhauer, Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria
While praising foreign investment, Ajayi-Kadri stated that Nigeria is the finest area to invest because of its vast population of lively youths who are sensitive, have great potential, and are eager to learn.
Despite the obstacles that have kept individuals from investing in the country, he believes that only those who are on the ground while things are bad can gain when things improve.
“Our relationship with Kanuf stems from the fact that they have a modular mixing line, which qualifies them as manufacturers and places them among those who are moving and contributing to the country’s Gross Domestic Product,” he explained.
The training center, which will provide theoretical and practical knowledge/skills for architects, civil engineers, and building finishers, will provide up to 800 training positions per year and is co-financed by Knauf and the DEG with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s program (BMZ).
The center, which cost around €700,000 to build, is part of a large-scale collaborative training offensive led by Knauf, DEG, and the BMZ in Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia. Within three years, 12,000 persons are expected to be qualified as a result of this project.
The training program aims to boost the economy by ensuring that the masses live in safe housing complexes made of ecologically acceptable materials.
The training scheme, according to Ihendu Okoronkwo, Managing Director of Knauf Nigeria, is based on the necessity to construct high-rise structures in Lagos, to establish a resemblance to building structures in developed countries, and to avoid building collapse in the country.
He noted that internal wall partitioning using the dry wall system is required in high-rise buildings because it is less sensitive to molds and alien microbiological components, which cause most building collapses.
In addition, Allard stated that the center would assist trainees in learning how to process various gypsum-based building materials.
He further stated that Knauf adheres to the highest standards in terms of environmental compatibility, long-term construction use, and safety.
He said that the housing sector has a significant opportunity for job development, and that providing inexpensive training to Nigerian artisans will go a long way toward helping them learn vital skills for the sector’s growth.
