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Nigeria’s leading engineering construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, in its pioneering effort to bridge latent skills gap in the engineering industry, last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Armed Forces Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Mechatronic School (AFEME), to signify a collaborative commitment towards the training of its personnel and students.
Speaking at the MoU signing, Head of AFEME Mechatronics School and the host of the event, Capt. Mohammed Idris described the day as a ‘momentous one’, as the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the School and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc signifies another key mileage in the company’s consistency of purpose and proactive contribution to the country’s industrial and technological development and industrial advancement.
Saying that, “this alliance is important since it will foster a skilled workforce in the field of Mechatronics, aligning with the ever-evolving demands of the industry; and contribute significantly to the growth and advancement of the Mechatronics sector in Nigeria,” Capt Mohammed emphasized that the emerging shared vision for the future will bring about a competent, innovative, and adaptable workforce. That was just as he congratulated the school and Julius Berger for the bold step towards shaping the future of education and professionalism in Nigeria.
The Head of Julius Berger’s Plant and Equipment Department, who in conjunction with the Human Resource Department coordinates the work of the Academy, Francois Roos said, Julius Berger seeks to further enhance the company’s and country’s productivity by proactively taking initiatives to develop the capacities of young minds. Taking that into consideration, he said, we have to train people for the future because if we don’t we will not be able to contact the benefit of the future offices and for us, at Julius Berger that is very important, and yes, it is the future of the young people, but we also have to sometime train some more people; so that they can also help to give the experience of the past to the younger people.”
Speaking during the MOU signing the Head of German Technical Advisory Group said, he would appreciate if Julius Berger becomes the representative of industry, as the national industry will support in developing the new plan because it is a bit bigger than what we can see in AFEME at the moment. The mechanics need to know how to operate the machines; but this is the basis, and we will do a good job. It is indeed going to be a very big one because it will help develop cooperation in Nigeria and of course, the experience in the industry.”
Roos agreed with Col Abel who said that progress depends on the perception of the future of things to come.
On the future, the PED Head compared today’s vehicles with that of the future saying, the vehicles of today still need to be manned or driven by someone who also should know at least a little of the maintenance so that if certain things go wrong with the vehicle, he can fix it. While modern vehicle may not need a driver and one will only have to tell it what to do without knowing even the basic services. For this reason, we will be needing people we call Technicians rather than what we call Mechanics now, he said.
He added that some people in his organization had been heard saying that we don’t have to train the people because if you do, they will leave. But quoting Richard Bradson, he said, “what if you don’t train the workers and they stay, imagine the standard and quality that you will have.
While saying that Himernuel, as the leader of the Academy is always available, he commended Cpt Idris, the Head of AFEME Mechatronics School, that he deserves the commendation from Col Abel and thanked him for his cooperation as well as praises for HR Head of Julius Berger, Mr. Ojomo for supporting the Academy.
Ojomo in his remarks, thanked the organisers for believing in Julius Berger adding that, I have no doubt in my mind that this is a start of greater things to come. We are so passionate about the development of our staff and beyond that, we do have something that caters for Nigerians in weeks now within our CSR.
Ojomo said Julius Berger will remain supportive of the dream of AFEME even as he thanked Captain Idris thank you very much for his support.
The MoU was signed by the Head of German Technical Advisory Group, Lt. Col. Frank Abel on behalf of the School and Julius Berger’s Head of Plant and Equipment Department, Francois Roos on behalf of the company, in the presence of Julius Berger’s Human Resource Manager, Femi Ojomo, Head of Plant and Equipment Academy, Ajamah Himernuel as well as Adeyinka Adeniyi and the Head of AFEME School, Capt. Idris Mohammed. Other Julius Berger staff at the event were Talent Management Manager, Michael Ashofor as well as Uzoma Olivia and Moses Happiness, both of the Media Relations Office.
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