Apparently hit by shortage of technical manpower, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has commenced an intensive training program for 708 engineers in the company.
The engineers were taken from the electrical, maintenance department, Protection, Control, and Metering department and linesmen across the 10 regions of the company, through a World Bank program
Declaring the training open in Abuja on Monday, the Ag. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz said the training is to expose TCN maintenance engineers to facility improvement programs under the World Bank’s Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project (NETAP), currently being executed in TCN.
He said, “In all, engineers undergoing this training are those in the Protection, Control and Metering Department (PC&M), Electrical Maintenance Department (EMD), and Lines Maintenance Department (LMD), totaling 708 engineers from the 10 Transmission Service Provider (TSP) regions nationwide.”
The TCN head noted that the company was prioritizing the training of its staff as it gradually expands the capacity of its transmission network with the execution of several projects to ensure grid efficiency and stability.
“A more robust grid, coupled with the role we must play under the new Service Level Agreement and our part in the West African Power Pool (WAPP), among others, underscore the need for our engineers to be trained and retrained, to ensure that they are relevant and efficient,” Abdulaziz said.
According to him, the training which is divided into five modules is aimed at honing their skills and, in the end, give them fresh perspectives on how to get their jobs done more efficiently and effectively to produce better results.
The Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP) in TCN, Engr. Victor Adewumi urged the participants to ensure active involvement during the program and to ask questions whenever they require clarification during the two-week training.
He also advised that this is the right time to seek knowledge, noting that with adequate theoretical and hands-on knowledge they are more likely to progress to become prosperous, he said that it is only ones with keen interest and determination that come out of such training programs better engineers.”
On his part, the Executive Director, Human Resources and Change Management at TCN, Mr. Justin Ishaya Dodo, revealed that much preparation was put into the program design for maximum result and he lauded the World Bank initiative, even as advised the trainees to make the best use of the opportunity and also to network and make new friends.
The General Manager, Programme Coordination at TCN, Engr. Joseph Ciroma urged the graduates to deepen their knowledge as the training has a team from the World Bank along with other indigenous power experts and instructors to provide deeper knowledge about emerging trends and what is expected of the trainees in their job roles at TCN.
