In continuation of efforts to help bridge the manpower gap in the building and construction industry, the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) in collaboration with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has flagged off its second Building and Construction Skills Acquisition Program for 40 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) at the Karamajiji IDP Camp, Lugbe, Abuja.
The three months intensive vocational training program is organized in line the strategic objective of NMRC’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of contributing in a practical and sustainable way towards reducing the artisan skill deficit in the construction and building industry while empowering socially disadvantaged youths with relevant industry skills and competences that will enable them to earn a decent living.
Specifically, the training program aims to empower the participants, dispossessed by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, with professional skills in four different construction and building trades: Masonry (block laying & plastering), Plumbing, Electrical works and Tiling.
A key feature of the 2018 training program is the inclusion of ten (10) women who will be trained particularly in tiling. This is part of NMRC’s commitment towards gender inclusion and support.
During the training, expert trainers and professionals from the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) will teach participants the theoretical and practical aspects of their chosen trade areas using a fast-track but comprehensive curriculum that will impact sufficient skills to get them started in the industry.
As part of the practical training project, participants are to construct some demonstration housing units, that will help project to provide decent accommodation for IDPs at the site. The houses will be wholly fitted with all components including electrical, plumbing, tiles and toilet facilities.
Speaking at the kick-off ceremony, Dr. Chii Akporji, Executive Director, NMRC and motivator for the training programme stated that NMRC’s decision to make construction and building skills acquisition a key part of its annual corporate social responsibility is based on the company’s understanding of the potential of the housing industry to create jobs and impact lives positively.
Her words: “We believe that the best way to empower a person is to give him the skill to meet a need in exchange for value. Our goal therefore is to sustain this program as a tool that will help empower the IDPs who have lost so much from the crisis in the North East with the capacity to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in the housing, building and construction industry and better their lives. By doing this, we believe that we are also helping to increase the pool of professionals and qualified artisans in the industry. The twin advantage makes it an ideal fulcrum of our corporate social responsibility”
She thanked the Industrial Training Fund for their partnership and technical support to the project.
The Director General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Mr. Joseph Ari, represented by the Head Training, Mrs. Evelyn Ose Irabor commended the NMRC for their consistency in facilitating the skill acquisition training program and their belief in the ITF as a fit and competent agency to partner with towards the realization of its corporate social responsibility. Mrs. Irabor further expressed the commitment of ITF to the program and pledged that they will ensure that participants are properly trained.
About NMRC
NMRC is a is a CBN-licensed mortgage liquidity facility with the core mandate of developing the primary and secondary mortgage markets by raising long-term funds from the capital market, and thereby promoting affordable home ownership in Nigeria.
NMRC was incorporated on 24th June 2013 and obtained its final license to operate as a non-deposit taking financial institution from the CBN on 18th February 2015.
