By Emeka Aginam

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has described  Samsung  Engineering  Academy  as an incubation center  that is expected to equip young entrepreneurs with the  technical skills needed for  self reliance in the competitive job market.

Fashola  while speeking at the opening ceremony of the Academy located within the premises of Government Technical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, noted that  there was an urgent need  to develop technical skills in students noting that existing technicians must have knowledge that are relevant to modern technology.

“Upcoming technicians must be exposed to cutting edge technology if they must remain competitive. There is no doubt that a sound knowledge of modern technology is the most  important resource for entrepreneurship and wealth creation for technicians,” he said.

He noted that the college is not only a knowledge hub but will also open up job opportunities for the people of Lagos which is in line with his administration’s drive to create jobs especially for young citizens.

In his remarks, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Nicholas Shin said that the aim was to promote co-operation, innovation, wealth creation and to facilitate thought leadership in communities where we operate in response to the real need and conditions”.

“Samsung Engineering Academy is our CSR initiative, undertaken in response of the need to train skilled workforce of technicians who will become service experts empowered to create wealth. Samsung as a quality service-oriented company aims to link CSR activities to sustain our level of innovation, which can only be achieved if we invest in quality education to  empower the youth”, he explained.

Samsung started the first phase of the academies in South Africa in March 2011. The South African Academy officially ended its pilot phase of the program as the first class of students graduated in January, 2012. In February, a second Academy was launched in Kenya.