Timely move
NADDC’s move on skills certification for automotive industry could not have come at a better time It is an idea that could neither be said to be new nor novel.
NADDC’s move on skills certification for automotive industry could not have come at a better time
It is an idea that could neither be said to be new nor novel. Yet, there is certain freshness in the latest push by lead actors in the automotive sector for skills development and certification in the industry that deserves scrutiny.
We refer to the plan by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), the Auto Sector Skills Council (SSC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to establish a certifying system for cadres of operatives in the automotive industry. Last week, the three key players met to consider the proposal for its establishment.
Best Nnodim, president of Auto SSC, and S.M. Yusuf, Director, Vocational Training and Skills Development, NBTE, both of whom had apparently worked on the initiative reportedly presented for consideration, a policy document on the proposed body to NADDC‘s Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Osanipin. To use the words of Nnodim, the automotive sector now requires a dedicated certification structure that aligns with global best practices, especially as the industry evolves into green energy and electric vehicles.
The document is said to have outlined a three-tier implementation framework under which the SSC would develop occupational standards, while the awarding body would design qualifications and curriculum, and accredited centres would deliver training and internal assessments.
At a time of rapidly-changing technologies and greater demand for consumer service experience across the board, we find the initiative to be particularly commendable; needless to add that the move aligns with global best practices. After all, it seems given that a sector steadily pivoting towards carbon-free and electric technologies would require new sets of skills and at such a pace that would match the scale of developments.
It is as much a recognition by industry leaders of the need for the current set of workers to upskill as indeed the imperative to develop a fresh pool of skilled workers on which the future of the industry depends.
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Again, the point isn’t that such certifications are particularly new to the country.
We recall times past when the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment not only tested but issued certificates of competence to artisans (plumbers, mechanics, welders and other cadres of so-called informal craftsmen) to validate their skills for employment, career advancement, and international recognition. Those were the heyday of technical and vocational education when service as against mere possession of paper qualifications mattered more.
Regrettably, that era of rigorous requirements for certifications has not only disappeared, workplace practices have since become an all-comers’ affair, with nary regard for standards. Viewed from that prism, we couldn’t have agreed more with the NADDC to bring what seems a semblance of that era back.
However, it should not be confined to the automotive sector alone. The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, should take the next step of making it mandatory for every sector and every single trade. Nigerians are after all, only too familiar with the paradox of too much water but not enough to drink; a country with record youth unemployment numbers yet cannot boast of sector-ready pool of artisans and tradesmen, but has to source for them in neighbouring countries of Togo and Benin.
Howbeit, our understanding is that such certification cannot exist in a vacuum. It can only come with renewed focus on technical and vocational training. And also in partnership with the private sector, who although are actually the end-users of the final product, are often left behind in the framing of the policy.
As it is, the NADDC and its working partners may have only provided a template of what is possible. The least the labour and employment ministry can do at this time is not only to own but run with it.
