By Dayo Adesulu

The Director General, National Automotive Council (NAC), Engr. Aminu Jalal has said that its Council in collaboration with other stakeholders have designed an automotive Mechatronics Curriculum which will enable the award of Trade Test III, II, and I certificates in automotive Mechatronics.

Jalal who disclosed this in Lagos during Motormechs and Technicians Association of Nigeria (MOMTAN) symposium and award ceremony said: “The Council will develop instructional manuals for the delivery of the curriculum.”

According to him, these instructional manuals are now ready and the training programme has commenced in some selected training centres in Nigeria. He explained that the training programme is aimed at equipping the students with a deeper understanding of new vehicle technology and give them the skills needed to repair them.

“The curriculum has been admitted into the National Vocational Qualification System (NVQS) and we are training of assessors and verifiers as required by NVQS,” he said.

He further pointed out that between June to August 2014, Council in collaboration with SURE-P and SMEDAN have trained over 1,000 auto technicians and mechanics on repair and maintenance of modern vehicles across the Federation.

Meanwhile, the National President, MOMTAN, Engr. Sulaimon Akinola Oseni said that the desire to harness the  opportunities and benefits derivable from a viable automotive industry informed the formulation of national automotive policy.

He noted that the main objective of the policy is to ensure the survival, growth and development of Nigeria automotive industry using local human and material resources.

He said, “For the survival , growth and development of the automotive industry, some new policies, intervention mechanisms and strategies should be explored.

Oseni who admitted that he had personally led the crusade seeking for the version of simplified training for vast artisans, suggested that modern technology syllabuses be translated into Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. He said this following the initiative Oshun State government which has translated the syllabus into Yoruba Language, while work is ongoing in Hausa and Igbo Languages.

Oseni who lauded the federal government’s effort in training the trainers and sending some of its members for training in Japan urged that; “few trainers who have benefitted should be employed by the government to train others.”

Moreover, to compliment the effort of government in training its members, he disclosed that MOMTAN has collaborated with Mr Ola Samuel Olufemi (a principal partner from Dublin to establish a modern technical college called Montan Automobile Maintenance Training School MAMTRIS in Ogun State.

He thanked the National Business and Technical Examination Board NABTEB for their supports to MAMTRIS in donation of a set of computers assembly.