Samsung has qualified 72 technicians from its Engineering Academy in Lagos in its class of 2016, as they join the 257 graduates who have passed through the institution in the last five years to deepen the pool of week trained technicians in Nigeria.
According to Samsung, the company took up the challenge of training employable youth in the country by establishing the West Africa Engineering Academy in 2012, to make sure that technically-skilled graduates are churned out ready for the employment market and able to become entrepreneurs if they so wish.
Speaking on the aim of this initiative, Changwook Lee, Managing Director, Samsung West Africa said; “Samsung’s aim is to build successful partnerships in Nigeria to equip the country’s youth with the technical skills they need to transform their lives and contribute to the development of the country.”
Lee added that the Samsung Engineering Academy revolutionises traditional education by providing technical and vocational training for school leavers, tertiary students and unemployed youth.
Since its inception, the SEA Lagos has trained over 800 students across the three trade areas (Household Appliances, Information and Mobile, and Audio Visual) under Basic, Intermediate and Advance Training.
The academy’s most recent set of graduates have all been provided with tool boxes in line with their specialised trade area, to better equip them for the future as entrepreneurs or as part of a skilled workforce. The top three achievers were also awarded prizes comprised of various Samsung electronic products.
Omolara Erogbogbo, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board, who spoke at the graduation ceremony, said that the Samsung Engineering Academy is a great initiative which has given hope to youths with technical skills and equipped them to become technicians in electronics engineering.
According to Erogbogbo, these technical skills will not only help the engineers to build a better future for themselves, but will also contribute towards Nigeria’s economic growth and development.
“The academy was established to empower indigent Nigerians and positively impact communities”, says Judith Kelechi Osuji, Corporate Citizenship Manager at Samsung West Africa.
According to Osuji, “innovation is at the heart of what we do, and we believe education is the seed of innovation. Our hope is that through initiatives like the Samsung Engineering Academy we can empower the youth by creating opportunities that will lead to sustainable employment.”
This year’s top graduate, Ozurumba Kelechi, said: “As a direct result of my training at the academy, I am now better equipped as a technician. Using the Samsung Engineering Academy as a platform to empower young people like myself is rewarding, not just for me, but for the people around me – my community, Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”
The Samsung Engineering Academy enrols over 1000 students yearly across various countries in Africa with the aim of closing the gap between skills and demand in the job market. Graduates have a 40 percent job placement track record, while others go on to pursue further higher education, training or start their own businesses.
Jumoke Akiyode Lawanson
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