PROPERTY TRANSACTION GUIDE

UK Plumbers To Train Nigerians
By Dada Jackson , Senior Correspondent, Lagos

Independent, Monday, 28th September 2009

THE NEED to sharpen the skills of local plumbers has been stressed, just as a leading building materials company is set to bring in United Kingdom (UK) based plumbers to train their counterparts in the country.

Chief Executive Officer of Wichtec Industries Lmited, Mr.Chido Nwankwo, dropped the hint in an address he delivered at a workshop organised by the company in conjunction with the Lagos State Association of Plumbing Contractors (LSAPC) for plumbers in the state.

According to him, continuous training was required for indigenous contractors in order to further develop their skills, adding that this was necessary if local plumbers really want to catch up with the modern techniques in plumbing works.

Nwankwo whose company markets GERRARD roofing and IPS pipes pointed out that the workshop became imperative because of the importance which the company attaches to skill acquisition and development by local artisans. He was however quick to add that unless local plumbers were given regular trainng, they might find it difficult to compete with their foreign counterparts especially when it comes to job placement.

The Wichtec helmsman was of the opinion that skill acquisition was germane to any profession, noting that the role of plumbers in construction could not be overlooked. He added that where their input was disregarded in the construction process, it could spell doom for the house owner.

He lamented a situation where local plumbers had, over the years, been subjected to disdain as a result of their inability to compete favourably with their more exposed foreign counterparts.

Nwankwo said that, with workshops like this, more and more of the local plumbers would be attuned to modern ways of carrying out their plumbing work.

In his own address, the President of the Lagos State Association of Plumbing Contractors (LSAPC), Mr.Oladele Dada, commended the Wichtec initiatives. He added that the programme would go a long way in sharpening the skills of plumbers in the state.

According to him, plumbers in the state would use the experience gained at the workshop to further increase their competence. He added that the large turn out of members of the association was a testimony to the fact that the workshop was germane to their profession.