The Chairman of The Welding Federation (TWF) Conference Management Committee, Dr. Austen Timi-Peters, has said that developing welding skills has the potential to take many unemployed youths in Nigeria off the streets.
He therefore harped on the need for better governmental support for the welding industry in the country, noting that a fully developed industry could build human capacity, shore up foreign exchange and contribute to the growth of the economy.
Timi-Peters spoke at the commencement of the TWF 2nd Annual Assembly and Conference holding at Eko Hotel in Lagos, from March 5-7.
The Herald can report that TWF is a pan-African organisation headquartered in South Africa with the aim of domesticating and domiciling welding capacity within the African region to serve the need of its manufacturing industries.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has indicated its commitment to prioritise investment in human capacity, infrastructure, research and development.
The Minister of State for Steel Development, Uba Ahmadu reiterated this commitment while highlighting President Bola Tinubu’s vision for advancing the welding industry under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Central to President Tinubu’s welding policy is the recognition of the critical role played by training and skills development in building a skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of a rapidly evolving industry,” the minister said.
Ahmadu stated that TWF Assembly and Conference represents a significant milestone in the collective efforts to promote excellence and innovation in the field of welding across Africa, stressing that it will enhance advanced welding technologies, foster collaboration, drive sustainable development, promote knowledge exchange, and disseminate best practices in the industry.
The minister emphasised that the Tinubu administration would collaborate with the Welding Federation Africa with the aim of modernising welding training infrastructure, developing industry-aligned curricula, establishing international certification programmes, investing in outreach programmes to encourage young Nigerians (particularly women and those in underserved communities) to pursue careers in welding, and promoting the economic viability of the welding profession.
The President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret Oguntala, lamented that systematic welding management has received little attention in Africa, leading to inadequacy to quality, productivity and economy in welding.
“This has led to limiting the innovativeness and competitiveness of most companies operating in metal product manufacturing in Africa.
“Therefore, there is a need to develop welding management knowledge through the cooperation of expertise and transfer of practices and technology in order to enhance welding management capabilities,” she said.
Oguntala noted that the theme of this year’s conference, “Materials Manufacturing Technologies: Managing Capacity Africa”, was not only relevant but also aligned with the NSE drive ensuring operational efficiency, and reduction of waste in the manufacturing sector.
She said, “The society is committed to providing quality service aimed at enhancing professional competence and development of its members vis-à-vis pursuing innovation and technological advancement that would accelerate the growth and development of the country.”
The Executive Director of TWF Africa, Ayo Adeniyi noted that since the advent of TWF activities, appetite for African solutions is growing exponentially and solutions are also being developed to address real concerns in the welding industry.
“In addition, TWF Annual Assembly and Conference 2024 aims amongst other things to improve on efforts towards fixing the frictions limiting the advancement of material science manufacturing in Africa by sharing technical experiences from simple to complex product executions, as well as research findings.
“At TWF Assemblies, solutions or recommendations are proposed on ways and means to address fault lines and advance national capacities from participation to management of national manufacturing industries in Africa.”
Other notable speakers at the conference include Vassily Oye Babaropulous of Nigerian Foundries Ltd, Nigeria; Professor of Extractive Metallurgy & Materials Processing, University of Lagos, Prof. David Esezobor; Ahmed Abdel-Aleem of Central Metallurgical Institute (CMRDI) Egypt; G S Barritte of Cranfield University, United Kingdom: Sandile Nkambule of University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; Luca Costa, International Institute of Welding, Italy.