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The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Ikeja branch has unveiled its mentorship programme to address skill gaps and unemployment in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the mentorship scheme was unveiled by the past and present chairmen alongside members of the society on Thursday night at its combined virtual/physical monthly meeting in Lagos.
NAN also reports that the scheme was for 35 mentees and 15 mentors.
The ceremony was tagged: “NSE Ikeja Branch – Adigun Arewa Mentorship Scheme (NIBAAMS)” 2021 cohort.
Chairman of the branch, Mr Olutosin Ogunmola during his presentation, listed challenges caused by dearth of skills, which made the country’s youths rated as unemployable at some point.
He said that mentorship was the best way to transfer practical knowledge, bridge skill deficit and create mass employment opportunities.
According to him, the mentorship programme will assist engineers who have veered into other fields, but still have interest to reconnect to practical knowledge, and be able to create jobs.
Speaking on the advantages of mentorship, Ogunmola said that those mentored were usually ahead and performed above their peers.
”It is a case of not having to reinvent the wheels, by way of taking advantage of those who have gone ahead of you, telling you where not to step, how to go about things,’’ he said.
Ogunmola added that the scheme kick-started by his predecessor about two years ago was aimed at equipping the next generation of engineers with current trends, to make global impact with leading innovations.
He said the scheme was named after the late Adigun Arewa, a past chairman, passionate about mentorship and ran with the vision to impact young engineers while alive.
”The next generation of engineers are those that are well prepared,’’ he said.
According to him, the practical skills will be impacted on the mentees to bridge the gap between the classroom theory and actual practice in the field of engineering, to remain useful and relevant in the global space.
The NSE boss added that specific areas were taken into consideration during the selection process and mentees marched with mentors, in their areas of specialisation.
He urged the mentees to make proper use of the scheme to enhance growth and development.
The mentors which included a past chairman of the branch, Mr Akin Akintola, took turns to share their thoughts on the importance, advantages and benefits of the mentorship programme.