Lagos: The Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW) has announced initiatives aimed at regulating and integrating informal roadside welders into Nigeria’s national certification system through the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF). Dr Solomon Edebiri, President of NIW, revealed these efforts during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, highlighting the challenges faced due to unregulated welding practices in the informal sector.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Dr Edebiri emphasized the importance of certification and standardization to ensure quality, safety, and employability in welding practices. He noted that the skills qualification framework offers welders outside the formal education system an opportunity to gain certification without attending traditional classrooms or workshops. The framework allows these welders to continue working while receiving guidance from a master craftsperson until they achieve an assessable competency level.
Dr Edebiri explained that once welders are prepared, an NSQF-accredited assessor or internal quality control officer evaluates their skill level. If they do not meet the required level of practice, they will not be certified at that level. The NIW president highlighted the collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to establish a National Skills Qualification Framework, which defines training and certification methods for welders.
The initiative aims to create a structured pathway for welders in the informal sector to be recognized, upgraded, and properly documented. Dr Edebiri stated that the goal is to support the government’s efforts to organize, assess, and guide informal welders toward internationally acceptable standards. This approach is expected to enhance productivity, improve job opportunities, and reduce incidents of poor welding outcomes that could lead to accidents and infrastructure failure.
Dr Edebiri further explained that the institute is committed to ensuring that welding practices in Nigeria are conducted under proper quality assurance processes. He stressed that welding engineers should be involved in design processes, material selection, welding execution, and integrity testing to guarantee safe outcomes.