The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), has inaugurated the Sector Skills Council for Engineering (SSC4E) to bridge engineering gaps and enhance workforce skills in Nigeria. Ms Abiola Arogundade, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, inaugurated the council at the 32nd COREN Engineering Family Forum in Abuja. Arogundade, represented by Prof Idris Bugaje, Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), said that with the inauguration, the SSC4E had joined 19 others in the Nigerian skills ecosystem. 'The SSCs under the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) are industry-led and are assigned the responsibility to identify the skill gaps in our industries. 'They are to develop occupational standards, ensure quality assurance and issue certification for those skills through the awarding body. 'The Chair of the Sector Skill Council for Engineering has been accepted graciously by the Nigerian Acad emy of Engineering (NAE), while COREN is the Awarding Body. 'The SSC shall promote the Nigerian Skills Qualification (NSQ), which has nine levels as approved by the National Council on Skills,' he said. Arogundade said that the greatest challenge facing the SSC4E was repositioning the pyramid of the cadres of engineering. 'That is why we are today importing skilled artisans from Benin and Togo in the construction industry, Chinese artisans in railway expansion, Indian technicians and artisans in the celebrated Dangote refinery. 'If care is not taken, history will repeat itself when it comes to the Mambilla Power Project, and the Trans African Gas Pipeline to deliver Nigerian Natural Gas to Europe,' she said. See also FCT unveils self-service vehicle registration Portal She urged the SSC4E to also engage the informal sector and formalise the training. She added that Nigeria's economy is 75 per cent informal and thus can not be ignored. 'Panteka in Kaduna, Ariaria shoe market in Aba, Computer Village in Ikeja, Kofar Ruwa Market in Kano, Apo Mechanic Village in Abuja, the road-side welders all over the country are typical examples. 'They are individually offering massive training to youths informally. 'By engaging them, we can standardise the training, offer them NSQ certification, train the Master Craftsmen as Quality Assurance Assessors, and eventually COREN could licence those with NSQ to operate. 'These licensed artisans can be deployed into national infrastructure projects instead of importing labour from ECOWAS or Asia, 'she said. Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, President and Chairman of the Council, said that the key roles and responsibilities of the SSC4E was provided for in the National Skills Qualification Framework approved by the Federal Executive Council. He said that these included identifying skill development needs and cataloguing skill ,addressing the skills gap and promoting the development of a highly skilled and competent workforce. He said SSC4E is expected to develop occupational standards i n the trade areas levels one to five covering the different engineering trades/services/consulting/repairs and maintenance, ventoring, fabrication. Abubakar said that SSC4E would facilitate the development of industry-driven training programmes and develop a comprehensive plan to upskill and train the teeming artisans in the engineering endeavours. He reiterated COREN's commitment to working with the SSC4E to facilitate the development of a comprehensive training and certification program. See also NDE distributes starter packs to 42 entrepreneurs in Adamawa This, he said, would address the specific needs of engineering artisans in the relevant sectors of the economy. Source: News Agency of Nigeria