The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have commenced a three-year programme to train thousands of Nigerian youths in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle retrofitting, with the first phase targeting 300 corps members across six locations.

The initiative, launched yesterday in Abuja at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja, is designed to create a pool of skilled technicians and entrepreneurs capable of supporting Nigeria’s expanding CNG and clean-mobility ecosystem.

Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NADDC, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, who spoke at the flag-off, said the programme was conceived to address the skills gap created by Nigeria’s transition from petrol and diesel-powered transportation to CNG.

He said the shift to CNG had created new opportunities across the automotive value chain but stressed that infrastructure and vehicles alone could not deliver the transition without adequately trained technicians, engineers, installers, maintenance specialists and entrepreneurs.

According to him, the programme would not be a one-off intervention, as NADDC and NYSC had agreed to implement it in phases over three years.

“We have just moved to a new technology, and that is an energy source, a new energy of power. We have just moved from PMS and AGO to compressed natural gas. That is why, because it is new, we have to do training and make sure that our corps members and Nigerian youths understand how CNG works, understand the dynamics and then be able to convert vehicles,” he said.

The NADDC chief executive said the programme would go beyond vehicle conversion to expose participants to the wider CNG value chain, including technology, maintenance and other commercial opportunities within the emerging industry.
He said 300 youths would participate in the first phase, with the programme expected to train between 900 and 1,000 youths annually as subsequent phases are implemented.

He explained that the three-year framework would be reviewed after its initial phase to incorporate lessons learnt, new technologies and emerging requirements in the CNG industry.

“It’s not going to be a one-off thing. We signed an agreement, and we plan to do it in phases. It’s going to be about three years, and after that first phase, we are going to review, add new things, update it based on the experience we might have gathered, then we review it and go again,” he said.

Beyond training, the NADDC boss said participants who demonstrated competence and interest in pursuing careers within the CNG ecosystem would be supported to secure employment or establish businesses.

He recalled that similar NADDC training programmes had resulted in direct employment and seed funding for some beneficiaries.

He said training experts employed some participants in an earlier programme, while others received seed funding to establish their own businesses.

The council, he added, would also support corps members who wished to pursue other aspects of the CNG ecosystem, including technology and information and communications technology-related opportunities.

The Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, said the corps had been implementing its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme since 2012 as part of efforts to equip corps members with skills that would improve their employability and reduce dependence on government jobs.

He said the CNG initiative would complement the government’s “One Youth, Two Skills” programme and provide new opportunities for corps members as Nigeria develops its clean-energy economy.

For the pilot phase, he said, NYSC was focusing principally on mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics and related disciplines. At the same time, the scope would be expanded to accommodate other areas of interest as the programme progresses.

“NYSC, since 2012, started the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme as a way of getting our youths to acquire skills to keep them off the unemployment market and reduce the pressure on the government,” he said.

The NYSC boss said the organisation was prepared to partner with other viable public- and private-sector initiatives capable of creating sustainable opportunities for Nigerian graduates.

Also speaking, the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, described the initiative as a practical response to Nigeria’s unemployment challenge, arguing that government could not employ every young Nigerian.
He said the priority should be to create an enabling environment in which young people could acquire relevant skills, establish businesses and employ others.

The Minister said the programme would ensure that beneficiaries were not only trained but certified and supported to participate in the CNG economy.

He said the initiative demonstrated the government’s effort to move beyond policy declarations towards practical interventions that could create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for young Nigerians.

The NADDC chief executive said the ultimate success of the initiative would not be measured merely by the number of certificates issued, but by beneficiaries’ ability to apply their skills safely and professionally after training.
He said NADDC would therefore emphasise competency, certification, practical training, safety and industry relevance.

The council’s intervention comes as the Federal Government pushes CNG and other cleaner automotive technologies as part of efforts to develop a more affordable and sustainable transportation system while leveraging Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources.

NADDC said the programme would help ensure that Nigerian youths are positioned to capture the employment and business opportunities emerging from the country’s automotive and energy transition.