By Grace Alegba
The Nigerian Society of Engineers, Ikeja Branch, has launched a career acceleration programme for young engineers to strengthen practical, digital and entrepreneurial skills.
The programme, known as NIBCAP, was unveiled during the branch’s 2026 Annual Business Luncheon in Lagos.
The luncheon had the theme, ‘Reclaiming the Built Environment Value Chain: Strengthening Standards, Regulation and Investment in Nigeria’s Construction Ecosystem’.
The event gathered engineers, policymakers and industry stakeholders to examine strategies for formalising and strengthening Nigeria’s engineering value chain.
Prof. Oluwatoyin Ashiru, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun, described NIBCAP as a strategic intervention for young professionals.
Ashiru said the initiative would bridge the gap between academic training and industry expectations in an increasingly competitive global economy.
According to him, the programme combines technical competence, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, professional development and career readiness for aspiring engineers.
He said: “One of the greatest challenges facing young engineers today is not a lack of intelligence. Nigerian youths are exceptionally brilliant.
“The real problem is that many graduates leave school with certificates but without sufficient practical competence, industry exposure, digital skills and entrepreneurial capacity.”
Ashiru said mentorship alone was no longer sufficient, stressing that engineers must acquire practical skills in software design, project management and problem-solving.
He noted that engineering increasingly intersects with artificial intelligence, renewable energy, sustainability and digital transformation across industries.
“Any engineer who refuses to evolve may soon discover that technology has respectfully retired him before pension age,” he said.
Ashiru commended the entrepreneurship component of the programme, saying engineers should become job creators instead of relying solely on employment opportunities.
“The future engineer must not only be employable. The future engineer must also be capable of employing others,” he said.
Mrs Margaret Oguntala, immediate past President of the NSE, urged other branches and divisions to replicate the initiative nationwide.
“The Ikeja Branch has set the pace by launching this career programme. It is something that every branch should aim to implement,” she said.
Oguntala also advocated a more inclusive engineering profession that recognises and supports all workers within the built environment value chain.
“We as professionals must help them by creating an inclusive system where everyone is brought together, trained and made to realise that we are not in competition,” she said.
Mrs Niimot Muili, Chairman of the NSE Ikeja Branch, said the luncheon addressed the dominance of informal operators across critical sectors.
Muili identified construction, wastewater management, power and mining among sectors largely controlled by unregulated operators.
She said the initiative aimed to sanitise and formalise the value chain while creating opportunities for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers.
According to her, welders, iron benders and concrete mixers would also benefit from the programme’s capacity-building opportunities.
Muili said the programme would initially accommodate about 150 participants drawn from the branch’s existing mentoring pool.
She explained that the programme would run through awareness, learning and industry exposure phases for graduates and practising engineers.
“At the end of the process, employers can be confident that these young engineers are ready to deliver,” she said.
Muili added that the initiative was designed as a replicable model for adoption by other NSE branches across the country.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo
