Sahara Power pledges more investment in capacity building

The management of Sahara Power has restated its commitment to sustained human capital development investment in Nigeria’s power sector to ensure enhanced productivity and seamless skill transfer.

Kola Adesina, Managing Director, Sahara Power, said positive  outcomes from the firm’s Graduate Engineering Programme has set the foundation for increased funding to drive sundry capacity building initiatives in the organisation.

An affiliate of Sahara Group, a leading African energy conglomerate, Sahara Power comprises Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric (IE) and First Independent Power Limited (FIPL). The company and  its technical partner, Korea Electric Corporation (KEPCO) are currently implementing a transformation plan across these power entities that is shoring up power generation and distribution in Nigeria.

Speaking at a strategy session tagged “Human Capital Development in Nigeria’s power Sector”, Adesina noted that the programme would help address the gulf created by an ageing workforce in the sector. Industry experts say the dearth of young engineers and technical staff remains a huge challenge for the sector that needs about 50,000 young skilled engineers, craftsmen and fitters to replace the ageing workforce – according to a recent report released by the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN).

The GEP currently has 100 young graduate engineers spread across Egbin Power, IE and FIPL. These engineers are being trained by seasoned Nigerian and foreign professionals under the scheme which also involves local and overseas exchange programmes.

Adesina said Sahara Power‘s management had set aside substantial funds to drive a holistic human capital policy that will cater to the specific needs of all employees within the organisation. He explained that the unfolding “people success story” at Sahara Power is predicated on strategic re-engineering and re-orientation activities designed to enhance capacity and efficiency. This is also backed by a change management process that has continued to fuel a performance driven culture among the legacy and new employees across the group.

“We are quite pleased with the impact of our policy on the work ethic and professional drive of our staff across the organisation.  The legacy staff and new employees are bound by an unwavering desire to light up Nigeria by working harder and smarter in line with recent global trends.  We will definitely set aside more funds for capacity building as we see Sahara Power as the future hub of power sector experts on the continent,” he added.