TCN to recruit 285 additional engineers

A TOTAL of 285 graduate trainees from the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) Graduate Skills Development Programme are currently being selected for employment in an on-going recruitment by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), officials has said.

    Relatedly, NAPTIN has commenced a one-year training scheme for one hundred and fifty (150) trainees for the power sector under the sponsorship of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

     The trainees are expected to become full–fledged engineers for the power sector at the end of their one year training.

    Speaking at the induction ceremony for the 150 additional trainees under the SURE-P sponsored NAPTIN graduate skills development programme held in Abuja, Director General of NAPTIN, Reuben Okeke stressed that 75% of those previously trained under the scheme are so far being employed by the different utilities in the sector.

    He said: “The desire and passion to achieve excellence in the learning of electric power engineering and to bridge the gap between the required and available skilled technical manpower needed to manage and sustain the growth of the power sector has inspired NAPTIN to come up with this noteworthy one year intensive and hands-on capacity building programme.

      “Prior privatisation, statistical information gathered from PHCN successor companies put the immediate technical manpower deficit in generation, transmission and distribution companies to sustain the on-going expansion and growth in the industry at about 8, 400 skilled employees, while in five years, a total of 17, 441 additional skilled technical manpower would be required. 

      “The reform in the sector which led to the privatisation of the erstwhile monopoly and unprecedented injection of new power infrastructures and IPPs under NDPHC has led to dire need of manpower development to man these utilities.

     “Judging by the volume of applications that NAPTIN has continued to receive since inception of the programme, it is evident that the programme has received very wide acceptance as well as support from both private and public institutions. This is a demonstration of the firm belief in the importance of capacity building to support the power sector in Nigeria.

    “I must however say that every run of this programme has been unique in one way or the other.  This is coupled with the dynamism which the sector itself bears at this point in time and its uniqueness in contribution to the development of this nation.”

He emphasised how government had empowered NAPTIN to address the skills gap in the sector.

    His words: “NAPTIN has, amongst its mandates, the task of preparing a pool of power sector personnel through the provision of comprehensive hands-on engineering and technical training for professionals and graduates in the power sector. True to its mandate, NAPTIN has been building and maintaining the framework of skills, knowledge and behaviour for high performance since 2009.”