By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), on Tuesday officially launched the National Clean Energy Skills Certification for Young professionals with financial and technical support from the European Union and the German Government.
Launched within the framework of Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), the National Clean Energy Skills Certification which was introduced during the first phase of NESP in 2017, aims to provide young professionals with the necessary skills for a career in the clean energy sector.
Following the introduction of the scheme, NESP developed competency certification courses in seven Clean energy areas and transferred to the syllabi to training partner institutes across the country.
Speaking at the launch, the Registrar of COREN, Prof Joseph Odigure noted that “COREN’s mandate is to create enabling environment for Nigerian youths to thrive in the engineering industry in the country, by advocating strict compliance by all relevant parties to best practices.
“The renewable energy and energy efficiency sector is growing rapidly and COREN remains committed to supporting the certification scheme to evolve to a world-class standard “.
Head of Section, Green and Digital Economy at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Inga Stefanowicz expressed the EU’s support towards enhancing skills development in the sector.
“Providing skills development opportunities to the young Nigerian professionals is critical for their employability or entrepreneurship potential, ultimately contributing to the growth and diversification of the economy.
The European Union is committed to supporting the Federal government of Nigeria in developing the potential in the Clean energy sector, and we are delighted to have supported the launch of the National Clean Energy Skills Certification Scheme”, Ms Stefanowicz said.
In her remarks, the Country Director of GIZ and ECOWAS, Ms Ina Hommers, represented by Head of NESP, Mr Duke Benjamin, assured that, “the collaboration between NESP and COREN is a welcome development in the industry with the strategic objective of enhancing the skills of the current and aspiring young Nigerian professionals in the clean energy sector.
“NESP will continue with the provision of supports to COREN towards the sustenance of the certification scheme”, Ms Hommers added.
The National Clean Energy Skills Certification includes the adoption of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Centres across Nigeria. Presently, there are twenty active training partner institutes accredited to deliver training on the different competency Certification courses in Nigeria.
NESP is a technical assistance programme co-funded by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power.
It aims to foster investments in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector and to promote access to electricity in rural areas.
