By Thompson ABISOLA
General Electric (GE), a digital industrial company, has unveiled an electronic learning (e-Iearning) portal for its Lagos Garage advanced manufacturing training programme.
The portal was inaugurated on Thursday in Lagos, during GE’s Lagos Garage Week 2018, a year-end series of events held annually at the Lagos Garage.
Speaking at the portal inauguration, Patricia Obozuwa, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, GE Africa, said that the aim of the portal was to extend the training programme to thousands of Nigerians across the country.
Obozuwa said that the e-learning portal was in line with GE’s commitment to skills development and the empowerment of entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
She 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 am happy to say that so far, over 250 people have successfully graduated from the advanced manufacturing training programme we offer here at the Garage,’’ Obozuwa said.
The Communication Director said that with the portal, GE planned to reach 1,000 entrepreneurs every year.
She said that with the e-learning platform, interested entrepreneurs no longer had to be physically present at the Garage to benefit from the innovative training offered by the hub.
“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,’’ Obozuwa said.
She said that since 2016, the permanent installation of the Lagos Garage is a hub for advanced manufacturing-based innovation, strategy development, idea generation and collaboration.
Obozuwa said that the Garage offered year-round series of skills training programmes, focused on building the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Till date, 250 entrepreneurs have graduated from the programme, having been trained to use the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies; 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters, as well as in business development.
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.
The e-learning portal is an idea to create more social experience while learning.
In 2019, GE plans to select 500 entrepreneurs to run the online programmes for six weeks, then 50 will be picked for physical training.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr Hakeem Fahm, said that the government was creating an enabling environment for science and technology to grow.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Olukayode Ogunnubi, Fahm said that earlier in the year, 22 entrepreneurs were taken to Washington DC for training, in areas of science and technology.
