The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said that Dangote group of companies will collaborate with the Kano State Government to actualize the establishment of the multi-billion Naira Aliko Dangote Ultra Modern Skills Acquisition Centre in Kano.
The centre, located along Zaria road, was constructed by the Ganduje-led administration.
Dangote disclosed this during an unscheduled visit to the centre yesterday, a statement signed on Sunday by the Director General of Media and Communications, Ameen K. Yassar, revealed.
Dangote, who was overwhelmed by the size and assorted equipment installed at the centre, said Governor Ganduje’s vision regarding skills acquisition was in line with his determination to help Nigerian youths develop skills that would help them to succeed in life.
“I must congratulate the governor for having this vision. This centre is by far much better than the one we set up at Obajana. I will not only serve the people of Kano state but other states in the federation.
“We have the Cement Institute where we want to train about 100,000 Nigerians every year and the work is in progress. But we are really going to partner with this new centre to train as many youth as possible,” he said.
Dangote promised that his organization would hire an experienced expatriate to head the Aliko Dangote Ultra Modern Skills Acquisition Centre and to set the pace for sustainability.
He said, “We will take the cost of hiring the head so that we can set a standard. We want the standard to be very high. We want it to be the best in sub–Saharan Africa so that we can catch up with places like Egypt, who have similar centres.”
He advised Kano State Government to increase the number of potential trainees from 500 to 1,000, considering the needs of the society.
Conducting Dangote round the complex, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje explained that the project was envisioned to close the existing gap between education and employability in the state.
“This was conceived in an attempt to make our huge population an asset rather than a liability. We need to create jobs, to provide our young men with skills so that they can actively contribute to the economic prosperity of the country.
“A study was commissioned before we embarked upon the project and 24 manpower gaps were identified. We have made provision for 20 gaps to be addressed here while the remaining for areas, which are agriculture–based would be accommodated somewhere within the state,” Ganduje said.
The governor announced that indigenes of the state would be offered scholarships to study at the centre, while trainees from other states and the private sector would be charged some fees.
He further revealed that plans are in the offing to construct hostels to accommodate prospective artisans at the centre.
