Academy moves to bridge the practical knowledge gap in engineering

The Engineering Resource Academy has expressed commitment to bridging the practical knowledge gap among young civil engineers to make them more relevant in the industry.

The Coordinator of the academy, Mrs. Lola Adetona, gave the assurance during a training organized by the academy for young civil engineers on Monday in Lagos.

Adetona, also the Vice-National Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE), said that the training on practical applications in engineering practice was a demonstration of the commitment.

She said that there was a huge gap between classroom (theoretical) knowledge and the actual practice of engineering.

Adetona said that some young engineering graduates did not know the expectations of the industry from them.

The coordinator regretted that the practical knowledge gap had hindered many young civil engineers from securing employments or advancing in the profession.

“I observed, over the years, that there is a vacuum between classroom knowledge and the actual practice on site.

“When most graduates of civil engineering leave school, you find out that they know next to nothing,” she said.

According to her, the academy has packaged practical training programs to equip such graduates with what the construction industry would demand from them.

“Sometimes too, we feel that civil engineering students need some practical knowledge and exposure even when they are still in school.

“The idea is to bridge the gap between young civil engineers and the industry by exposing them to what the industry demands through practical training that will enable them to fit into the construction industry.

“At present, we are doing a training tagged: `Protea Structure Application’.

“It is a software application training where they learn how to design buildings, structures of multi floors. We are doing a case study of a 10-story building, which is ongoing somewhere in Ikoyi, Lagos,” Adetona said.

She added that the academy was planning a program in which fresh graduates of civil engineering would be on internship for about four weeks to eight weeks with the academy’s partnering firms.

She said that on completion of the internship, such graduates would stand the chance of securing employment in the company or being recommended to another company.

Commenting, Mr. Olawale Bolanrinwa, Vice-Chairman of NICE, Lagos Chapter, described the training as a refresher course that must be taken by anyone desiring to remain relevant in the engineering field.

Bolanrinwa said that the training would refresh the memories of both young and old engineers about what civil engineering entailed as well as update them with the latest methodologies in practice.

According to him, NICE,  Lagos Chapter, is partnering with the academy with the goal of promoting sustainability of the engineering profession as well as ensuring that practitioners would not be left behind.

“No doubt, the engineering profession requires more practice and exposure for one to be competent.

“To me, the training is not just for young civil engineers, but also for those who have been in practice for over 30 years – to bring back to memories what engineering entails and the new approaches.

“This is because a lot of things have changed from what we were thought then (over 30 years ago) and what is obtainable now,” Bolanrinwa said.

Mr. Michael Olowo, a facilitator of the training, said that many young graduates of civil engineering found it difficult to practicalize what they were taught in school, urging the participants to take advantage of the training to improve.

Olowo also urged the management of institutions of higher learning to inculcate more practical training in their school curricula so that the students would be properly equipped for graduation.

Miss Onyiyechi Ekwerike, a fresh civil engineer, described the training as an eye-opener.

Ekwerike,  who is a beneficiary of the training, thanked the academy for the training which, she said, would impact much on young civil engineers.