By Ebunoluwa Sessou & Emmanuella Donatus

In a bid to empower young female engineers, the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, APWEN Lagos chapter, has launched SheEngineers Consultancy Apprenticeship Program, SECAP, an opportunity for young female engineers to be trained by established consulting engineering firms where they will be absorbed into their teams.

The SECAP is a mentorship platform to guide young female engineers in an industry immersion, real projects and for real job pathways.

With over 200 female engineers mentored for the maiden edition of the Mentorship Launch Cohort 1.0 of the SECAP in collaboration with Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria, ACEN, the Chairman, APWEN Lagos Chapter, Engr. Atinuke Owolabi, FNSE, disclosed that the initiative by the Association is to celebrate the International Youth Day.

According to her, the mentorship launch is to equip young female engineers in a way to preserve the future of engineering to be inclusive, diverse, and powered by women.

“200 young female engineers have already registered for this program. That means we are not only mentoring but directly empowering 200 young women to enter and thrive in the consulting engineering workforce.

“This builds on our recent successes and this is a clear demonstration that APWEN Lagos is creating real and tangible career pathways for female engineers”, she said.

She however called on all stakeholders to support mentorship programs like SECAP that bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.

“The mentorship is not about creating jobs, but building a legacy where women’s participation in engineering is no longer the exception, but the standard.

“This is a journey that will shape careers, transform lives, and strengthen the consulting engineering industry in Nigeria”, she added.

In his contribution, the guest speaker who is the President of ACEN, Engr. Kam-Selem Bukar, FNSE, corroborated that the vision is to elevate women engineers into leadership, governance, and technical excellence aligns perfectly with ACEN’s own mandate to elevate consulting engineering practice in Nigeria.

“This collaboration between ACEN and APWEN speaks to a shared belief: that engineering outcomes improve when diverse minds are included in the design, management, and delivery of projects.

“The road we travel together is not merely about training; it is about transformation. Nigeria’s development trajectory relies on robust engineering solutions in infrastructure, energy, water, housing, transport, and digital enablement.
“While women comprise a substantial share of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline, their representation in senior technical roles and in consulting leadership remains disproportionately low.

“This gap is not a reflection of ability or ambition alone; it is the cumulative effect of service gaps, limited access to sponsorship, and a historical tendency to rely on informal networks when seeking project exposure and career advancement.

“SECAP, the SHE Engineers Consulting Apprenticeship Program, is our answer to that challenge. It is a deliberate, scalable, and sustainable pathway for women engineers to access world-class mentorship and hands-on apprenticeship within Nigeria’s consulting engineering ecosystem. It is designed to transform aspiration into competence, and competence into leadership that can drive high-impact projects for our communities.

“The core purpose and design of SECAP, and why ACEN is aligned with the following mandates;, to create a structured mentorship culture that accelerates the professional growth of young women engineers into confident, capable practitioners and leaders in consulting engineering.

“To provide authentic, practice-based apprenticeship opportunities in ACEN member firms, exposing mentees to the realities of client engagement, project delivery, risk management, and sustainable design.

“To strengthen the pipeline of female talent into senior technical roles and governance within Nigeria’s engineering sector, thereby expanding the nation’s capacity to deliver high-quality infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Engr. Funmilayo Kadri said, the initiative is about bringing together the wealth of experience in our industry with the fresh energy, curiosity, and ambition of the next generation.

“As engineers, we know the value of a strong foundation. In the same way, a strong career foundation is built through guidance, shared experience, and having someone who believes in you. That’s exactly what this programme is here to offer”, she said.