Members of the Nigerian Institute of Building have stated that to address the country’s housing deficit, about five to 10 million artisans are needed in key areas in the next 20 years.

Those who spoke at the NIOB Lagos Chapter’s conference and Annual General Meeting noted that the importation of skilled labour should be checked if the nation must meet housing needs.

The Project Director, Construction Skills Training and Empowerment Project, Anthony Okwa, who spoke on the need for vocational training as the bedrock for housing and infrastructural development, said artisans should be considered as critical to any nation’s development.

“People must, therefore, be encouraged to developed interest in technical and vocational education,” he said.

According to him, the high rate of unemployment presents an opportunity for the youth to acquire the necessary skills in construction.

Okwa said there were positions in many organisations taken up by foreigners due to lack of necessary skills and qualifications by Nigerians to perform in those roles.

He said, “Many construction workers are retiring and the industry is also losing out to competing sectors where work is more stable and the pay more competitive. It is important that we invest in training people, particularly the youth, who will be dedicated to the development, design and implementation of engineering and technology projects for the built industry.

“In order to salvage Nigeria from its decaying infrastructure and huge housing deficit, all relevant stakeholders, including the federal and other arms of government, construction companies, real estate developers, professional bodies and trade associations must invest more resources in vocational training to boost the number, competence and quality of manpower for the construction industry.”

He said the National Vocational Qualification Framework approved by the government should be adopted for certification of skills, adding that professional builders had significant roles to play in the process.

The President, NIOB, Mr. Tijani Shuaib, said skills acquisition and vocational training in the built industry had become crucial.

Shuaib, who was represented by the 2nd Vice President of the institute, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, said the NIOB had been recognised as a certificate awarding body by the National Board for Technical Education for the certification of artisans.

“An assessment and certification board has also been inaugurated by the institute comprising its experienced and senior members,” he said.

The Chairman, Lagos State Chapter, NIOB, Mrs. Adenike Said, noted that members of the institute would continue to play their role as professionals at the centre of building construction in accordance with the body’s mission to enable members deliver sustainable shelter to address the housing needs of the country through research, development and global best practices.

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Over the past years, the dearth of local artisans in the country’s construction sector has been a major issue as the skills gap continues to be filled by workers from neighbouring countries like Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic, among others.

In 2015, it was estimated that the country lost over 9bn to foreign artisans and tradesmen as the local built environment did not have enough manpower.

However, following several calls on the government to bridge the skills gap, the Lagos State Government has inaugurated a training programme in conjunction with the Nigerian Institute of Building and other relevant professionals.

The initiative, which is known as the ‘Lagos State Master Craftsman Project’, involves the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board, whose centres will be used for teaching the participants, while developers and contractors will take on the craftsmen for on-the-job training.

After the training, the craftsmen are expected to be attached to reputable construction companies or the housing projects of the state government.

The Commissioner for Housing, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, stated at the inauguration of the programme that 4,000 craftsmen would be targeted for training in the next four years, and they would be provided with basic tools afterwards.

Lawal noted that the Nigerian construction sector had become more dependent on foreigners to fill the skills gap as trained artisans aged and the younger ones were not sufficiently groomed to take over from them.

He said, “The situation has been compounded by the absence of a well-structured training and apprenticeship system for workmen.

“Lack of adequately trained artisans has been discovered to be a major contributor to the problems of housing delivery and this industry plays an important role in the economy.”

The commissioner said the programme would enhance employability, improve productivity and stem the influx of foreign artisans as well as craftsmen into the country.

A Professor of Building at the University of Lagos and Vice Chairman, Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, Martin Dada, noted that some of the houses built several years ago by the older artisans were far better than the recently built ones, most of which are prone to collapse.

“We are looking forward to a time when Nigeria will begin to export skills in construction, beginning with this initiative,” he said.

The President, NIOB, Mr. Tijjani Shuaib, stated that the institute was fully prepared to train artisans and equip them with the necessary construction skills.

Shuaib, who was represented by the institute’s second vice president, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, at the inauguration of the programme, added that all artisans in the state and the country at large needed to improve on their knowledge.

The Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Lagos Chapter, Mrs. Adenike Ayanda, said the dearth of artisans was a major contributor to the increasing cases of building collapse in the country, with its attendant loss of lives and resources.

According to Ayanda, the collaboration between the government and the private sector is long overdue as a crucial aspect of growing the nation’s construction industry.

The Chief Executive Officer, First World Communities Limited, Big.-Gen. Olatunde Reis (retd), stated that the training should not be limited to the uneducated artisans alone as it would help to tackle unemployment even among the educated ones.

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