Director General of National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, NAPTIN, Engr. Reuben Okeke has assured that institution would revamp the dearth of skill gap in the energy sector in the country .
Engr. Okeke gave this assurance while speaking with newsmen at the just concluded NAPTIN stand at the African Utility week and clean Power conference which held in Cape Town ,South Africa.
According to him the dearth of skill workforce is a very big challenge right now to Mann the huge investment the federal government is making in power sector.
He noted that a lot of challenges facing the energy sector is being addressed and skill gap is one of them, stressing that if there is no skill workforce of those who are operating, managing and maintaining the infrastructure no matter the amount government put into energy sector , it will still be a challenge.
Okeke indicated that the sole purpose of establishing the the training institutue is to provide training for power sector personnel as well as coordinate training activities in the sector.
He noted that in pursuit of this mandate ,NAPTIN has taken over management of existing seven regional training centers of defunct PHCN,
He said that NAPTIN is poised to offer world- class training and maintain the highest standards within the dynamic and evolving power sector.
‘the courses and training we offer are designed and tailored to directly meet power sectors current technical, business, managerial and commercial operations.’ Capacity skills development with emphasis on best practices is key to the success to electricity power sector reforms.
Furthermore he called for a multi-sectoral approach to end the rampant theft and vandalism of infrastructure across in Africa and especially Nigeria
He pointed out the prevalence of such actions, sometimes involving cabals, was impacting negatively on service delivery and economic growth.
“This (theft and vandalism) is urban and rural terrorism costing nations millions per day,” he said
“In Nigeria, a lot of money that could be used to address the challenges of housing, is being used to tackle security ,stating it will be good for government to use technology to contain theft and vandalism.
Okeke blamed vandals for the incessant power outages Nigeria is experiencing. He added, “There is a serious need for serious collaborations on this serious issue.
All relevant agencies, government and communities must come together to explore solutions to address this problem. The media and research organisations also have a role to play by informing us what measures have been successfully implemented where, to address the devilish issue”
Source: Champion
