Under the IVM-BOSCH Training Project, over 1,528 youths, men and women, selected from the five south east states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo have been trained in automobile diagnosis and maintenance, the facilitators of the project have said.
Their one-year training, which was done in four phases/work packages in the Express Bosch Car Service (EBCS) workshops established in each of the five states where Bosch Auto Diagnostic Equipment, including brake fluid tester, car scanner, battery tester, air conditioning machine and battery charger were installed.
The project sponsors and collaborators are Innoson Kiara Academy (IKA), a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) promoter, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd (IVM), BOSCH German Corporation, DEG/develoPPP.de.
Speaking during the trainees’ formal graduation ceremony and issuance of certificates to the fourthphase in the project, numbering 394, held at IVM Nnewi on Saturday, Chief Executive Officer of the Innoson Kiara Academy (IKA), Mr. Endi Ezengwa, commended the Bosch Company for providing the training equipment and IVM Chairman, Dr. Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, for partnering in the project. He disclosed that a total of 2,200 apprentices were targeted to betrained by 2024.
Congratulating the graduates, Dr. Innocent Chukwuma told them that their successful training and certification qualified them for both direct and self-employment globally.
Also speaking at the event, Anambra State Commissioner for Youth Development, Patrick Aghadinuno Mba, who commended IKA and IVM for the project, described human capital development as the greatest aspect of development, asserting that a society cannot develop without developing the people, especially the youths.
He said that though IVM is doing well in terms of automobile manufacturing in Africa, “this cannot be sustained without local content, especially in the area of human resources and the good thing is that Nigeria will be better positioned in that sector due to transfer of technology.”
While the Training Manager at the Academy, Engineer Ifeanyi Joseph Okeke, expressed elation with the zeal and determination of the trainees to learn and graduate within the set period, Nigeria Automotive Technicians Association (NATA) Spokesman, Chukwuemeka Makasi, commended the training sponsors for their efforts, saying that its member-beneficiaries would not disappoint them.
On behalf of the graduates, Miss Emmanuela Nwachukwu from Abia State, who trained in auto diagnostics and maintenance,expressed optimism that they would earn rewarding livelihood with their training.
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