BY OKEY NDIRIBE

AS part of measures aimed at eradicating the high incidence of building collapse  in the country, the Nigerian Institute of Builders, NIB has urged all trained artisans and craftsmen in the construction industry to register with the institute.

This advice was given last week in Abuja by the President of NIB, Tunde Lasabi, while speaking at the flag-off ceremony of a skills improvement program  organised for artisans and craftsmen in the industry by the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme of the Federal Government in collaboration with the Institute.

The NIB boss further stated that the mission of the institute was to enable members deliver, alongside relevant stakeholders, sustainable shelter that addresses the housing needs of the nation through research and development in keeping with global best practices.

According to Lasabi:” With this idea that encapsulates our resolve to make Nigeria a better place, by having safe and habitable buildings, NIB could not have found a better partner to work with than SURE-P, in the training and skill improvement of artisans and craftsmen who are important players in the built environment.”

Regulatory body
He further stated that the institute together with its regulatory body – the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, CORBON, have continued to intensify the training and re-training of builders throughout the country to ensure their efficiency adding that “we can make bold to say that so far, despite the increasing rate of building collapse in Nigeria, there has been no case of any collapsed building that has been traced to a professional builder”.

The NIB chief further advised anyone, who wishes to build wisely or to avoid the collapse of his building, to engage a professional builder adding that the extension of professionalism to artisans and craftsmen portends a good omen for the industry and the country at large.

“ The good choice of SURE-P and by extension the Federal Government to drive this all important training through NIB shows that there can’t be any other professional to ensure that buildings do not collapse than the builders,” he said.

Lasabi further declared that the programme which was  planned for bricklayers, tilers, electricians, plumbers, iron benders, painters and plaster of Paris makers was designed to attain the following goals: improving the skills of artisans and craftsmen; creating opportunities for self-employment; preparing artisans ahead as par takers in government’s mass housing programme and to enable them perfect their skills in line with global best practices.

The Minister of Labour and Productivity Chief Emeka Wogu in his remarks, stated that the event marked the beginning of improving the skills of all craftsmen and artisans in the construction industry nation-wide adding that it is expected that the process would lead to the establishment of a national database for licensed construction and housing artisans based on certain levels of qualification such as the Ministry of Labour Trade Test certificates.

Wogu remarked that this was necessary pointing out that “it is on record that the current skills of our artisans within the construction/housing industry have been very poor leading to untidy maintenance works particularly in plumbing, house wiring, POP making and masonry.

He further stated that the Technical Vocational Education and Training, TVET,unit of SURE-P and NIB have already commenced the training of trainers adding that skills acquired by artisan tutors as a result of the collaboration, will make it possible for them to develop teaching materials that will provide detailed and comprehensive information to beneficiaries of the skills improvement programme.

Wogu further said that more than 500 youths were involved at the launch of the programme for the North-Central zone in Abuja.
Said he: “This programme would be implemented across the six ego-political zones of Nigeria and thousands of unemployed Nigerians would benefit from it. It is targeted to provide training for a large number of Nigerians.

“A lot of housing construction schemes have been undertaken by the present administration. In order for the government to effectively deliver on these mass housing schemes, the nation needs to have a mass of well trained artisans in the construction industry. That is the purpose of this aspect of SURE-P.”

Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Mr. Clement Ilo said he had already requested that NIB should furnish his office with the data of the tradesmen who had just been inducted by the institute for the purpose of tracking their professional growth. He expressed appreciation to President Goodluck Jonathan for introducing the programme and thanked the Minister for raising the resources to implement it.