‘Influx of foreigners hinder employment in Nigeria’s welding sub sector’

The President Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW), Chief Solomon Edebiri, has said that the influx of foreigners into the  welding engineering sub-sector in the country was affecting the growth of  Nigerian youth in  the industry. Edebiri, said this in Benin, while addressing participants at a two-day training workshop with the theme “welding education and workforce […]

The President Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW), Chief Solomon Edebiri, has said that the influx of foreigners into the  welding engineering sub-sector in the country was affecting the growth of  Nigerian youth in  the industry.
Edebiri, said this in Benin, while addressing participants at a two-day training workshop with the theme “welding education and workforce development”.
Edebiri described the welding engineering sub-sector as a veritable goldmine waiting to be tapped by the federal government for its economic growth.
“Welding  and its related practices is the heart beat of industrialization and remains one of the highest employers of labour and a critical corner piece of the construction industry. Seven of every 10 jobs in the oil and gas industry is closely welding related,” he said.
He said that until recently, interest by Nigerians in the field of welding was extremely low despite huge unemployment statistics, noting that the rate at which the Chinese and Indians are proliferating the construction industry is worrisome.
He also decried the declining  interest in technical and vocational skill development  in the country.
He assured that NIW would continue to collaborate  with the government agencies and private sector to build capacity of welding and promoting standardization of welding practice in Nigeria.
Also speaking, the manager capacity building unit in the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr Frank Ibe, said the board would continue to work with the institute to ensure that competent workforce are available in the country as well as ensuring  that local content acts guidelines are strictly followed through effective monitoring.