NADDC DG Tasks Experts on Quality Training Manuals for CNG, EV Technologies

 

By oluwaseyi fadoro 

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Otunba Oluwemimi Joseph, has charged technical experts, industry practitioners, trainers, assessors and other stakeholders to ensure that instructional manuals for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Electric Vehicle (EV) technologies meet the highest technical and industry standards.

Joseph gave the charge on Thursday, September 24, 2026, through the Director of NADDC, Mrs. Onireti Joke, who represented him at a technical workshop for the critique and validation of draft instructional manuals for training and certification based on the approved National Occupational Standards (NOS) for CNG and EV technologies.

The workshop was held at Providence Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, and brought together stakeholders from the automotive industry, academia, technical institutions and other relevant sectors to critically examine the manuals developed to support competency-based training and certification.

The NADDC DG commended the past and present leadership of the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Automotive Industry for their commitment to advancing competency-based skills development in Nigeria.

He recalled that NADDC received approval from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in 2016 to establish the Sector Skills Council for the Automotive Industry, describing the initiative as an important platform for addressing the changing manpower requirements of Nigeria's automotive sector.

According to him, Sector Skills Councils provide a platform for employers, industry practitioners, professional bodies, academia, technical institutions and other stakeholders to formulate and review National Occupational Standards, identify skills gaps, promote workforce development and strengthen training and certification opportunities.

He said NADDC, in collaboration with the Sector Skills Council and other stakeholders, had supported the development of National Occupational Standards covering various areas of the automotive industry, including emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and Auto Gas/CNG.

Joseph explained that the workshop represented a critical stage in the process, following the development of the instructional manuals from the approved NOS during an earlier exercise in Keffi.

He stressed that the quality of any training programme depended significantly on the quality, relevance and practicality of its instructional materials.

While the National Occupational Standards define the competencies required for specific occupations, he said instructional manuals provide the practical pathway through which such competencies could be taught, acquired, assessed and demonstrated.

He therefore urged participants to subject the manuals to rigorous technical scrutiny to ensure that they were accurate, clear, practical, current, competency-based and relevant to Nigeria's operating environment.

The NADDC boss noted that the global automotive industry was undergoing significant technological transformation, particularly with the growing adoption of alternative propulsion systems such as CNG and electric vehicles.

He said the development presented opportunities for industrial growth, employment creation, youth empowerment, technology transfer, local content development and investment in Nigeria.

He, however, emphasised that the opportunities could only be fully harnessed if the country developed a workforce equipped with the requisite knowledge and practical skills to safely install, operate, maintain, diagnose, repair and service the emerging technologies.

Joseph urged the experts to pay particular attention to occupational health and safety, especially in areas involving high-pressure CNG systems, high-voltage electric vehicle systems, battery technology, charging infrastructure, diagnostics and maintenance procedures.

“Safety must remain a fundamental component of competency in these emerging technologies,” he said.

He further urged stakeholders to ensure that the manuals were practical enough to serve different categories of learners and trainers, stressing that they should not merely serve as reference documents but as effective tools for teaching, practical demonstrations, skills acquisition and competency assessment.

The NADDC DG also called for openness and professionalism throughout the validation process, urging participants to identify and address any gaps, ambiguities and inconsistencies in the manuals.

He called for relevant industry inputs to be incorporated into the final documents to ensure that they met the expectations of both the training system and the automotive industry.

Joseph assured stakeholders that NADDC would continue to support the development of Nigeria's automotive sector across all facets.

He expressed the hope that, when finalised, the manuals would become credible national reference materials for trainers, learners, assessors and industry practitioners, while remaining sufficiently adaptable to future technological developments.