The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Human Capital Development and Monitoring, Chief Mrs Ann Aligwe, has identified technical and vocational skills acquisition as a critical pathway to youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and sustainable employment in the state.
Aligwe spoke on Friday in Abakaliki during the formal commissioning of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) Automotive Training Centre along Ogoja Road, Abakaliki, where the Governor, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, described the facility as a strategic investment in the human capital of young Ebonyians.
The commissioning marked the establishment of the first NADDC automotive training centre in the South-East, with the facility designed to provide practical and industry-relevant training in automobile technology, diagnostics, maintenance, fabrication and emerging automotive technologies.
Speaking against the backdrop of the event, Aligwe stressed the importance of linking infrastructure with deliberate investment in human capacity, noting that facilities such as the NADDC centre would create opportunities for young people to acquire employable skills and translate them into sustainable livelihoods.
Her position aligns with the broader human-capital development thrust of the Nwifuru administration, which has increasingly placed skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and youth empowerment at the centre of its development agenda.
The Minister of State for Industry, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, also underscored the human-capital dimension of the project, saying the facility would help address one of the major constraints to industrial growth — the shortage of adequately trained technical manpower.
Enoh said the Federal Government was prioritising skills development as part of its industrialisation strategy, particularly as emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and advanced automotive systems reshape the global automobile industry.
He commended the Ebonyi State Government for providing the necessary support for the establishment of the centre, describing the state as a place with strong entrepreneurial potential.
The minister said young people should not be limited to seeking white-collar employment but should be equipped with relevant technical skills that could enable them to become employers of labour.
According to him, the new centre provides an opportunity to train Ebonyi youths in areas capable of supporting the automobile industry while also opening pathways to self-employment, innovation and enterprise development.
Governor Nwifuru, in his remarks, said the facility was not an extension of the conventional mechanic workshop but a deliberate investment in the future of automotive technology and the productive capacity of the state's youths.
He said the centre would provide the skills required by automobile technicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and innovators to participate meaningfully in the emerging industrial economy.
The governor maintained that his administration's People's Charter of Needs agenda was anchored on infrastructure, human capital, technology and productive enterprise.
He said: “Infrastructure without skilled manpower cannot deliver its full potential, while skilled manpower without infrastructure cannot operate at the required scale. Therefore, we must build both.”
Nwifuru urged young Ebonyians to discard the perception that technical education was inferior to conventional academic education, stressing that properly trained technicians and engineers could become entrepreneurs and employers of labour.
He also invited investors in automotive services, component manufacturing, fabrication, vehicle maintenance, diagnostics, electric mobility and technical education to explore opportunities in the state.
The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NADDC, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, said the centre was established as part of the council's mandate to promote sustainable development of Nigeria's automotive industry through skills development, technology transfer, innovation and youth empowerment.
Osanipin said the facility was equipped with modern training equipment and would serve youths, technicians, artisans, students, vehicle owners and entrepreneurs across Ebonyi and the wider South-East.
He disclosed that NADDC was also working towards a certification framework under which trainees would obtain automotive qualifications from Level One to Level Nine, in line with Nigeria's skills qualification framework.
The NADDC boss said the certification would give beneficiaries formal recognition of their technical competencies and strengthen their capacity to secure employment or establish their own enterprises.
For Aligwe, the development represents an important intersection between infrastructure and human-capital investment, providing an avenue through which government interventions can translate into practical economic opportunities for young people.
The commissioning therefore reinforces the administration's emphasis on building not only physical infrastructure but also the human capacity required to utilise such facilities productively.
The NADDC centre is expected to serve as a hub for automotive skills acquisition, technical innovation, entrepreneurship development and technology transfer, particularly as Nigeria's automobile industry increasingly adapts to new-energy vehicles and digitally driven automotive systems.
