Shettima targets world-class standards for Made-in-Nigeria products

KEY POINTS

• Vice-President Kashim Shettima chaired the 8th National Council on Skills (NCS) meeting, calling for “Made-in-Nigeria” to become a global hallmark of quality.
• The VP emphasized that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) must function as a single engine to drive the nation’s industrial revolution.
• A major “train-the-trainer” partnership with Dangote Industries was proposed to upskill 100 candidates in high-demand technical areas like industrial mechanics and welding.
• The council is preparing for WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, viewing the competition as a bridge to global relevance for Nigerian AI developers, machinists, and agriculturalists.

MAIN STORY

Nigeria is intensifying its efforts to transform its informal “hustle” into a structured, world-class industrial workforce.

At the 8th NCS meeting held on Friday in Abuja, Vice-President Kashim Shettima urged the council to harness the “restless, inventive spirit” of Nigerians to power the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The VP’s vision extends beyond local consumption, aiming to certify Nigerian skills—from the tech hubs of Lagos to the fabrication centers of Nnewi—as globally competitive currencies.

A practical pillar of this strategy is the new collaboration with the private sector. The council reviewed a proposal from Dangote Industries to launch an intensive one-month program focusing on five critical sectors: industrial electronics, instrumentation, welding, mechanics, and heavy-duty equipment operations.

This “train-the-trainer” model is designed to create a multiplier effect, ensuring that high-level technical expertise is decentralized and accessible across the federation’s various industrial hubs.

THE ISSUE

The core challenge identified is the “Skills-to-Standard Gap.” While Nigeria possesses a vast pool of artisans and “street-smart” innovators, there has been a historical “Quality Deficit” that prevents local products from competing in international markets. This “Certification Barrier” often excludes talented Nigerians from global value chains. By aligning the NBTE and ITF and preparing for the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 competition, the government is attempting to build a “Standardization Bridge,” turning raw talent into a verified, world-class professional asset.

WHAT’S BEING SAID

• “Our goal is to ensure that Made in Nigeria is synonymous with world-class,” stated Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
• “We owe them a future where their skills are their currency. The future belongs to those who prepare for it today,” Shettima added, addressing the council.
• “The NBTE and the ITF are two gears of a single engine… working towards the human capital development objectives,” he noted regarding agency synergy.
• “The initiative by Dangote Industries will cover industrial mechanics, welding and fabrication, and heavy-duty equipment,” highlighted the NCS meeting report.

WHAT’S NEXT

The immediate next step is the formal inauguration of the National Working Committee for WorldSkills Nigeria, which will oversee the selection and training of candidates for the 2026 Shanghai games. Simultaneously, the one-month pilot program with Dangote Industries is expected to commence, with the first 100 trainers undergoing certification in heavy-duty equipment and industrial electronics. The NCS will meet again in the coming quarter to review progress reports from the ITF on how many of these trainers have been successfully deployed to local vocational centers. Finally, the government plans to launch a “Skills-to-Market” portal to link newly certified world-class artisans directly with international industrial projects.

BOTTOM LINE

The bottom line is that Nigeria is moving from “Self-Taught” to “Certified.” By pushing for world-class standards and partnering with industrial giants like Dangote, Vice-President Shettima is signaling that Nigerian craftsmanship is ready for the global stage. For the youth in “Silicon Lagoon” or Nnewi workshops, this means their skills are being revalued as a hard currency for the 21st-century economy.

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