The Federal Government has said that Nigeria currently has only about half the human capital needed to run its power sector efficiently, especially in the rapidly growing renewable energy space.
The Director-General of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), Mr Ahmed Bolaji Nagode, disclosed this during the official launch of the Next Gen RESCO Programme in Abuja. The initiative, organised by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in collaboration with NAPTIN and Eco-Innovation Empowerment Initiatives, aims to train and empower Nigerian youths in renewable energy.
Nagode said, “We have not even occupied 50 per cent of the human capital required in the renewable energy space. Most of the graduates we churn out do not have the practical skills to operate in the power industry. NAPTIN was created to fill that void.”
According to him, the tripartite programme was carefully structured to equip Nigerian youths with practical, in-demand skills such as solar photovoltaic (PV) installation and maintenance, mini-grid design, solar PV supervision, and energy efficiency. These areas are critical for expanding renewable energy infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Nagode also raised concerns over the maintenance of renewable energy assets like solar streetlights across the country. He warned that many of them could become unusable within a few years without skilled local personnel to operate and maintain them. “Without proper operation and maintenance, many of these will fail within four to five years,” he said.
The NAPTIN boss stressed the importance of local content development and said it was time for Nigeria to stop depending on foreign expertise to maintain energy infrastructure. “We must train our young people to take ownership of our energy future,” he stated.
Aligning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic agenda, Nagode noted that this initiative supports job creation and youth empowerment. “This programme is tackling the growing mismatch between academic qualifications and the practical skills required in today’s power sector. The country’s youthful population is a huge asset waiting to be tapped,” he said.
REA’s Managing Director and CEO, Abba Aliyu, said Nigeria currently accounts for only about 70,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector, despite being the country with the highest number of people without access to electricity. He noted that Africa as a whole has only about 320,000 renewable energy jobs.
“We need to change that narrative. This event alone is introducing 120 new job opportunities, and our long-term goal is to create 10,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector,” Aliyu said.
He explained that the Next Gen RESCO Programme is Nigeria’s first structured public-private initiative to build a skilled renewable energy workforce. The programme, which kicked off with 120 graduates from the six geopolitical zones, will combine three months of classroom training at NAPTIN with a one-month industry placement at a Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO). Participants will also undergo an additional nine months of paid internships, with job offers extended to the best performers.
Aliyu also announced a significant milestone in Nigeria’s localisation push, saying the country now has a 600-megawatt solar PV panel manufacturing capacity thanks to recent policies introduced by President Tinubu.
