SKILLS ACQUISITION ON SCAFFOLDING AND PRIMARY ACCESS

Skills acquisition is an integral part of education that any society desirous of development must not neglect or relegate to the background.

This is so because, it prepares a set of individuals (most times, youths) to acquire relevant skills for self reliance. Such skills or crafts contribute to society meaningfully and cannot be wished away. While some of the skills are taught in schools like the technical colleges, others are obtained through trades and crafts at vocational centres, workstations and entrepreneurial  centres.

It is in recognition of these facts that the Bayelsa State Education Development Trust Fund on the  8th of January, 2020 engaged 20 youths in an intensive training for the critical skills acquisition on scaffolding in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

The 20 youths for the training programme were selected from the 8 local government areas of the state without gender bias.

The Fund considers the programme necessary as it would afford the beneficiaries the opportunity of engaging in the world of works, especially in the construction, oil and gas industry.

It is also the desire of the Fund to draw the attention of youths in the state to the fact that such skills are in high demands in industries.

As part of the law governing the operation of the Trust Fund for purposes of accountability and transparency, the Fund which is an Interventionist Agency only provides fund to the State  Ministry of Education and its parastatals and Agencies for projects and programmes it intends to undertake, the Science and Technology Education Board executed the scaffolding training for the state.

ROD-DEI Associates and Phildamm Integrated Services Ltd, Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State conducted the training programme.

Course content for the 14 day intensive training include:

Equipment used in scaffolding (pre-fabricated scaffolds)

Strength as propertied of scaffolding materials

Scaffolding systems

Bird cage scaffoldings

Fixed gin wheels

Cantilever scaffolds

Independent scaffolds with a return

Put-log scaffolds

Free-standing towers/scaffolds

Safe use of ladders/scaffolds

Correct procedures of tying and securing scaffolds

Tie knots and hitches common with scaffolds

Strength evaluation and inspection procedures

Critical soft skills for sustainable career

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