Minister of Power, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu, has asserted that the country’s renewable energy and energy efficiency sector is growing rapidly, whereas Nigeria is currently needing a skilled workforce to support the sector.
Speaking at the “Energise- First Career Fair for the Clean Energy Sector” on Tuesday in Lagos, the minister said the country’s renewable energy sector is the fastest growing in Africa, even as Nigeria represents the largest market in Africa.
The fair was organized by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations – Alliance ( REEEA-A) in collaboration with the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), European Union and the German Government.
Over 25 companies in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector and 115 professionals, seeking to advance their careers in the clean energy sector, took part in the fair.
Represented by Mr. Abubakar Ali-Dapshima, director, renewable and rural power access, the minister said the fair facilitated the matching of competencies with opportunities within the country’s clean energy sector.
According to him, with the push for cleaner sources of energy, renewable energy is one of the fastest-growing, high-technology sectors in the global economy.
He said the growth of the renewable energy sector had heightened the need for a skilled workforce that would help support the strengthening of power and energy access initiatives of the government, sector actors and partners.
Aliyu noted that renewable energy was one of the ways government was providing electricity to Nigerians in the rural areas not connected to the national grid.
He said the government had been developing solar mini-grids and remains committed to achieving a carbon net-zero by 2060.
Earlier, the head of Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), Mr. Duke Benjamin, emphasized the commitment of the programme to reinforcing the skills and capacity force in the sector.
Represented by Olumide Fatoki, who is head of unit, sustainable energy access, (NESP) said the renewable energy sector was growing in the country and need about 30,000 young Nigerians to fill the gap in the sector.
He commended the efforts of the funding and implementation partners of the career fair, adding that it was the first step towards establishing a skill-matching collaboration platform for the clean energy sector.
The deputy director, Energy Commission of Nigeria and a member of the REEEA-A Steering Committee, Aminu Isa, highlighted the importance of collaborations as a key driver of the expected growth in the energy sector.
“As an Alliance of associations within the Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) sector, we are very much interested in this synergy. This is aimed at improving the quality and standards of RE and EE technologies while also strengthening capacity in terms of knowledge generation and skills distribution,” he said.
Be the first to know when we publish an update
