The Federal Government has disclosed that Nigeria lacks 50 percent of the skilled manpower required to power the nation’s energy sector, especially in the fast-growing renewable energy space.
Ahmed Nagode, Director-General of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), made the revelation during the launch of the Next Gen RESCO Programme, a public-private initiative led by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), NAPTIN, and Eco-Innovation Empowerment Initiatives.
“There is a difference between academic qualifications and the skills needed to operate the power network. That is the void NAPTIN was created to fill, especially in the renewable energy space,” Nagode said.
He emphasized the urgent need to equip Nigeria’s youth with practical skills, warning that the lack of trained hands could jeopardize the sustainability of ongoing solar infrastructure projects.“Even in Abuja, solar streetlights are everywhere. Without proper operation and maintenance, many will fail within four to five years,” he warned.
Nagode added that Nigeria has produced many graduates, but most are unfit for the sector’s technical demands. “Many graduates lack relevance to available jobs. In renewable energy, we have not even filled 50 per cent of the required human capital.”
REA Managing Director, Abba Aliyu, said the agency aims to add at least 10,000 jobs to the sector in coming years, noting that Nigeria currently has only about 70,000 renewable energy jobs despite being the African country with the highest number of people lacking access to electricity.“We are moving beyond rhetoric, actively creating opportunities,” Aliyu said.
“Thanks to deliberate policies by Mr President, Nigeria now has a 600-megawatt photovoltaic panel manufacturing capacity — a capacity that didn’t exist before his administration.”
The Next Gen programme, Nigeria’s first renewable energy talent pipeline, is set to train an initial batch of 120 young graduates from all six geopolitical zones through a combination of classroom learning and paid internships, with guaranteed jobs for top performers.
