Dangote Advocates Vocational/Technical Education for Industrial Growth

The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has called on Nigeria and other developing countries to lay emphasis on technical and vocational education as a tool for accelerated industrial development and growth.

Speaking at the Global Education First Initiative Anniversary & Learning for All Round Table held in New York in the United States, Dangote said that developing nations needed a paradigm shift in their educational system in order to spur technological development.

According to a statement on Sunday, the industrialist said at the roundtable that the time had come for developing economies, especially those of African extraction, to focus on vocational/technical education in order to provide requisite skills that would drive the quest for industrial development in their respective countries.

He said that the Koreans and Asian Tigers used the same strategy to transform from backwards to frontline economies, adding that since it had worked in several countries, all African countries needed was the strong drive to make it work.

Dangote, who indentified women as a powerful aspect of the population, called for increase in the involvement of the girl-child in education, saying the right education could have a dramatic impact on women productivity. He also called for the training of the youths in order to have the skills that will equip them for leadership.

He said the Dangote Group sponsored young people from Africa to the World Economic Forum meetings to expose them to learn the art of leadership from leading global businessmen and statesmen.

According to him, these young attendees on returning are equipped with the necessary skills to provide the right mix of leadership needed to help solve perceived loopholes and challenges in the domestic economy.

Over 70 young African professionals had benefitted from this project, the statement said.