The Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering has said that Nigeria’s widening engineering skills gap was threatening the country’s industrialisation and technological advancement.

Its president, Dominic Udoatan, said this on Monday in Lagos. According to him, Nigeria’s technical colleges and polytechnics are struggling with outdated equipment, poorly equipped laboratories and workshops, inadequate practical materials, irregular electricity supply and a shortage of experienced instructors.

He said the absence of critical engineering trades such as foundry technology, machine tools practice and biomedical engineering from mainstream technical training programmes had further deepened the skills deficit.

“These are strategic skills that form the backbone of manufacturing, production engineering and industrial development. Their absence continues to create significant gaps in the country’s technical manpower needs,” he said.

The NATE president noted that despite several education reforms aimed at strengthening technical and vocational education, Nigeria had yet to achieve the desired outcomes in skills development and industrial capacity.

To address the situation, Mr Udoatan said the association had launched a series of capacity-building initiatives targeted at equipping technologists with practical competencies required by modern industries.

He disclosed that NATE was working to develop professional standards and training frameworks for specialised technical fields with limited professional representation, particularly foundry technology, machine tools practice and biomedical engineering.

According to him, the association is also advocating periodic retraining of engineers, technologists and instructors through structured industrial attachments to expose them to emerging technologies and contemporary engineering practices.

He recommended that such training should be undertaken at least once every five years to ensure graduates were equipped with skills relevant to current industrial needs.

Mr Udoatan identified Nigerian Machine Tools Ltd in Osogbo, Osun State, as one of the country’s underutilised technical training assets, citing its capacity to produce machine tools, computer numerical control (CNC) equipment, and mechatronics systems.

He urged government agencies and educational institutions to leverage such facilities to train students, graduates, and engineering professionals.

The NATE president further revealed that the association had empowered its branches across the six geopolitical zones to establish cottage industries focused on designing and fabricating locally made machines and equipment using indigenous materials.

He said the initiative aimed to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and local manufacturing capabilities among technologists.

Mr Udoatan added that NATE had strengthened partnerships with institutions such as Bayero University, Kano, and Yaba College of Technology to deliver specialised training programmes in equipment handling, laboratory management and safety practices.

He also disclosed plans to establish dedicated training centres and develop foundry facilities for the production of engineering components, automotive parts and machine tools.

According to him, these initiatives were designed to close the nation’s engineering skills gap, reduce dependence on imported technologies, and support Nigeria’s ambition to become a technologically advanced and industrialised economy.

Mr Udoatan said the association was also promoting innovation-driven skills development through the design and fabrication of locally relevant engineering solutions.

According to him, NATE members have successfully developed and produced a number of indigenous technologies, including an egg incubator machine, a rice de-stoning machine (already patented), a coconut de-shelling machine, and a castor oil seed de-husking machine.

He explained that the projects were designed to expose technologists to practical engineering processes while addressing challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural and industrial sectors.

The NATE president added that the association is preparing to expand training programmes in biomedical engineering, including the maintenance and local production of biomedical equipment adapted to Nigeria’s operating environment.

He said the initiatives form part of the association’s broader strategy to strengthen technical capacity, stimulate innovation and create a sustainable pipeline of skilled engineering professionals for the country’s industrial development.

(NAN)