The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, on Thursday commenced an initiative to promote the study of science subjects among students of secondary schools in Niger Delta region.
Chief Operating Officer, Osk Leverages and Vie Logistique, consultants to NCDMB, Idowu Adejumo, said in Yenagoa that the project aimed to produce indigenous leaders in the oil and gas sector.
Mr Adejumo said that NCDMB planned to fill the skills technical gap in the nation’s oil and gas by sensitising science students to the career prospects in the sector across the nine Niger Delta states.
According to him, about 500 students in the Senior Secondary School two, drawn from over 200 schools, are participating in the maiden career talks.
The theme is Bridging the local content gap in Nigeria’s Industrial Sector: Science, Technology and Engineering to the rescue.
Mr Adejumo said the facilitator of the career talks, Osk Leverages and Vie Logistique, was working with state ministries of education in Ondo, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa.
According to Adejumo, the talks are anchored by Victor Ekasa, an experienced facilitator, a senior Safety Engineer with over 15 years experience in the oil and gas sector.
The talks had been held in six states of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Abia and Imo.
He explained that the students were encouraged to consider careers in sciences, engineering, and technology towards building local capacity and reduce the number of expatriates in the country.
“The current management of the NCDMB, under the Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Wabote, is supporting the move to catch the engineers young.
“Two best participating students in each of the state are to go home with a branded mini laptop as a way to encourage them.
“The industrial growth of any nation is anchored on science, engineering and technology and all efforts must be put in place to encourage the new generation to take up the challenge for national growth.
“We need more Nigerian engineers to man the very technical aspects of oil and gas operations. Nigerians have the capacity to compete favourably and this programme will help us build new set of engineers, scientists and technologists.
“The grand finale of the science career talks, sponsored by NCDMB, will hold in Yenagoa, Bayelsa on Feb. 27 and we expect them to be adequately motivated to choose careers in Engineering Sciences,” Mr Adejumo said.
NAN
