By Franklin Alli

Lagos—CEMENT Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN), said yesterday, it is set to start using the N15 billion cement import levy for manpower development in the industry and related fields.

Accordingly, the Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to commence the first phase of training 3,000 artisans and craftsmen in the construction industry.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman, Board of Trustees of CITN, who disclosed this during the signing ceremony of the MoU in Lagos, said the 15 percent import levy the federal government mandated cement importers to pay since 2011 till –date have accumulated to N15 billion.

“We are going to start using the money to among other things “train and enhance manpower in cement technology and related fields; to liaise with other relevant institutions and bodies with a view to enhancing cement technology development,” he said.

He explained that the collaboration between CTIN and ITF is aimed at achieving the following objectives: “To organise and conduct training programmes for artisans and craftsmen in the building industry; to determine specific needs and opportunity for capacity building and process improvement for artisans and craftsmen that use cement to execute their work; to promote professionalism, proficiency and actualization of the training to-work initiative and entrepreneurship so as to discourage the importation of foreign artisans and craftsmen from neighbouring countries and to complement the success of transformation agenda of the present administration in the area of youth empowerment and employment generation.”