The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has proposed one year post-graduation training for engineers and called on the federal government to return funding of the council’s activities.
The President of COREN Engr. Prof. Sadiq Abubakar made the call on Tuesday at the 32 Engineering Assembly with the theme: “Regulating Engineering Profession for Shared Prosperity in Nigeria” in Abuja.
Prof Abubakar also disclosed that COREN and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) will commence accreditation of technical colleges in Nigeria in the coming academic session.
He said, “In response to the goals of the current FGN Administration, the Council approved the resuscitatation of the Supervised Industrial Training Scheme in Engineering (SITSIE) under the new name of Engineering Residency Programme (EREP) and planned to engage the National Assembly to seek legislative backing.
“This is a one-year post-graduation training programme for all engineering graduates of an accredited university or polytechnic, designed to meet practical experience requirements for the purpose of registration with COREN as a professional engineer or an engineering technologist similar to the practices of Medical, Pharmaceutical, etc professions”.
Prof. Abubakar said relevant organisations like NUC, NBTE, ITF, MAN, NSE, NATE, and others have been contacted and all expressed their readiness to participate and support the initiative.
He also stated that the Council has approved the creation of a new register for the cadre of Engineering Artisans in line with its mandate.
“The new NSQ levels 1-2 under the NSQF which FGN included in the Scheme of Services of Nigeria has given the required recognition and backing to the laudable policy”.
He added that arrangement has also reached advanced stage with NBTE and other relevant organisations for the inauguration of the SSC4E.
“This will herald the commencement of the processes of training, certification and licensing of artisans in Engineering Sector in Nigeria. COREN is the awarding body, NBTE is the regulatory body while NAE will chair the SSC4E comprising of diverse interest groups in Engineering including employers of labour, professional bodies, academia, private sector, etc in line with NSQF manual approved by NSC,” he said.
Speaking further, he said COREN, in order to check the incessant failures of engineering infrastructure, especially building collapse across the country, has constituted a “National Technical Committee to drive the ERME at national level similar to existing practice at regional and state levels”.
He added that the ERME inspectors are to be supported by Engineering Intelligence & Surveillance (EIS) Task Force and EIS Whistle Blowers operating at national, regional and state levels.
“COREN is ever ready to improve its performance in regulating engineering education, training of practitioners and their practices in line with the global ethics and standards to ensure the prevention of the failures engineering infrastructure and safeguard lives and Properties of the citizenry. The Council is therefore appealing to the FGN to continue to fund COREN similar to its peers in funding regime for the benefit of the nation the health sector. It is our hope and prayer that the FGN would reconsider its position to return the Council into funding regime for the benefit of the nation” he said.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Musa Dangiwa said the standards COREN sets and the professional ethics it enforces are critical to ensuring the quality, safety, and resilience of housing and infrastructure projects across the nation.
Dangiwa commended ongoing reforms and restructuring in COREN to effectively and efficiently implement the provisions of the COREN amended Act in monitoring and enforcing compliance in engineering practice.
He said, “As the Minister of Housing & Urban Development, I can tell you that effective regulation of the construction/built sector is key to my ministry, especially to curb the ugly developments of incessant collapse of buildings and other infrastructure”.
He commended COREN for rising to the occasion by playing a leading role amongst the Regulators in the built environment.
He further appreciated COREN for developing checklist to provide verifiable complete documentation of the construction process that allows tracking of actions or inactions to establish culpability in building collapse in Nigeria.
“This is geared towards finding lasting solution to the menace of building collapse in Nigeria,” he added.