Nigeria’s social enterprise and skill advocate, iCreate Africa, will hold its sixth yearly technical and vocational skills competition, conference, and exhibition, SkillFest from April 26 – 28, 2023, at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.
According to its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bright Jaja: “ SkillFest seeks to promote technical skills as a global currency and a tool fashioned to empower young people to create sustainable and inclusive economies. It has always proven to be an eye-opening experience for participants/competitors and mostly attendees through its elegant promotion of trade professions.
“It further buttresses the point that skills acquisition is an important sustainable solution to Nigeria’s high rate of youth unemployment, skills shortage, and industrialisation. ”
The previous editions featured competitions in which artisans participated in groups of various crafts such as plumbing; masonry, tiling, electrical wiring, furniture; welding and fabrication, among others.
The sixth edition, which is tailored to address the huge skill gap in the built environment, will be the second time the event will be executed on the ‘Builders Show’ banner.
The Builders Show concept is novel and first of its kind, designed with multifaceted features which include panel discussions and paper presentations on topical issues bothering on skills in the built environment, competition amongst artisans from various trade professions, and exhibition by both public and private sector organisations in the built environment. Perhaps the unique quality of the event and value proposition is the celebrity show outlook never experienced in the industry. Artisans and their crafts will be showcased to stakeholders in the built environment through a contest amidst glitz and pageantry. The best-performing artisan will be awarded medals, trophies, and financial rewards.
“After successfully hosting five editions across the country and impacting thousands of youths, we have recorded significant gains in closing the huge gap between supply and demand of professional skill with the SkillFest event. “Chief among the gains include training artisans on proficiency, professionalism, image, safety, and billing. We have supported several successful building projects by providing artisans with the quality skillset, thereby mitigating certain risks to the advantage of contractors and project owners. The 6th edition will be exponential.”
Jaja, a 2019 member of the Forbes 30 Under 30, called for support and partnership in the forthcoming 6thedition of the Builders Show.
He said the skills competition, which is modelled after the Olympics, would feature the participation of Ten African countries competing across various construction trades for the title of “African Skills Champion” This includes African countries such as Ghana, the Republic of Benin, Cameroun, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, and South Africa.
This year’s event is about to create a new genre of entertainment where the new stars are construction artisans across the African continent.
