The Chairman/CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has engaged 11,000 workers from India to work in his refinery which was commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari hours before he relinquished power on May 29, 2023.
Observers expressed dissatisfaction and queried Dangote over his decision not to employ Nigerian and African youths in the refinery, rather Indians.
Responding to the grouse raised by observers, the Sub-Saharan African Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network (SASASNET) explained that the reason for the neglect was that youths from Nigeria lacked the adequate skills needed to be engaged.
Speaking on Wednesday in a communiqué issued at the end of its two-day meeting in Abuja, the network noted that it had resolved that each country in Africa develop a national skills qualification framework that will enable ease of labour migration across the continent.
Secretary-General of SASASNET, Ousman Sillah, said: “The need for SASASNET to engage in vigorous public awareness and engagement to change the negative perception of the public on the value of skills and apprenticeship.
“The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria under construction has engaged over 11,000 workforce from India, while our youths lack the required skills to be engaged.
“Africa should avoid a repeat of the same in the upcoming $25 billion Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline traversing the Gulf of Guinea to Europe; the absence of National Occupational Standards in many countries.”
Speaking further on its observations, the network noted that the absence of pathways to recognise skills obtained in the informal sector in most sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria, has led to a lack of opportunities for skilled labour migration across African regions.
SASASNET also noted the negative social perception of skilled workers alongside the weak interface that exists between trade unions/associations and skills/apprenticeship development.
It, therefore, urged each member country to develop its National Skills Qualifications Framework with adequate provisions for the informal sector.
“SASASNET shall collaborate with World Skills to promote competition and talent hunt amongst African youths.
“Integrate NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training) into the apprenticeship training programme to promote inclusivity,” it assured.
Nigeria is expected to host the Secretariat of the Network, while Kenya would hold the next General Assembly in 2024. Read more.
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