By Yange Ikyaa
In line with its commitment to skills development and the empowerment of entrepreneurs in Nigeria, GE, the world’s premier digital industrial company, has launched an e-learning portal for its Lagos Garage advanced manufacturing training program with the objective of extending the training program’s reach to thousands of Nigerians across the country.
The portal was launched during GE’s Lagos Garage Week 2018, a year-end series of events held annually at the Lagos Garage, which is located at GE’s Lagos office in Victoria Island.
During Garage week, GE opens up its innovation hub to the public for interested entrepreneurs to register for carefully curated courses in advanced manufacturing and business development.
Courses on offer introduce participants to principles of 3-D printing and rapid prototyping, as well as a range of business development skills in finance, personal branding, marketing and innovation.
Speaking at the portal launch, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, GE Africa, Patricia Obozuwa, expressed pleasure at the continued success of the Lagos Garage since inception.
“Our goal is to empower Nigerian entrepreneurs with the relevant skills required to compete on a global scale. I’m happy to say that so far, over 250 people have successfully graduated from the advanced manufacturing training program we offer here at the Garage” she said.
Obozuwa added that with the e-learning platform, interested entrepreneurs no longer have to be physically present at the Garage to benefit from the innovative training the hub offers.
“This platform will make the training on offer at our GE hub reach a much wider audience than ever before, thus increasing the number of beneficiaries and making it more impactful. This has always been our goal: to reach the maximum number of Nigerian entrepreneurs in a short period, delivering valuable training that they would otherwise not have access to.”
Speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the event, Hon. Hakeem Fahm, Commissioner of Lagos State Ministry of Science and Technology, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Kayode Ogunnubi, commended GE on being a collaborative partner of the Lagos State Government for several years.
He congratulated the company on the launch of the Garage e-learning portal saying, “Lagos state is at the forefront of ICT development in Nigeria and training programs like the GE Garage that equip youths with innovative skills is one of the ways we believe we can develop the economy of the state and by extension the entire country.”
Launched in 2016, the permanent installation of the Lagos Garage is a hub for advanced manufacturing-based innovation, strategy development, idea generation and collaboration. The Garage offers year-round series of skills training programs focused on building the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Till date, 250 entrepreneurs have graduated from the program, having been trained to use the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters as well as in business development.