COREN Proposes One-Year Engineering Residency to Bridge Skills Gap

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has proposed a mandatory one-year residency scheme for engineering graduates aimed at improving practical competence and closing the country’s widening skills gap before participation in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The initiative, known as the Engineering Residency Programme (EREP), is designed to strengthen graduate training, align engineering education with industry needs, and restore confidence in Nigerian-trained engineers. However, the proposal has sparked mixed reactions among professionals, academics, and young engineers.

Addressing a Long-Standing Skills Deficit

For decades, employers across engineering sectors, including civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, computer, and agricultural engineering, have complained about the mismatch between graduates’ academic knowledge and workplace demands.

Nigeria’s engineering education, once highly regarded for balancing theory with practice in the 1970s and 1980s, has suffered setbacks due to underfunding, obsolete laboratories, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate workshop facilities, and shortages of experienced lecturers. These challenges have left many graduates ill-prepared for real-world engineering work.

Adding to the problem, many engineering graduates posted for NYSC are deployed to secondary schools as teachers rather than engineering-related organisations, limiting their early-career exposure compared to professions such as medicine, law, and accounting.

Lessons from Past Failures

Attempts to bridge the gap through programmes such as the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) and the Supervised Industrial Training Scheme in Engineering (SITSIE) have yielded limited success, largely due to weak supervision, inadequate placement opportunities, and chronic underfunding.

A recent study published in the Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences found that more than 70 per cent of Nigerian engineering graduates lack the practical skills required by modern industries, with many returning from industrial attachments without meaningful exposure.

What the Residency Programme Entails

Under EREP, engineering graduates would undergo a compulsory one-year supervised residency in accredited engineering firms or relevant organisations before proceeding to NYSC.

COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, said the council plans to engage the National Assembly to secure legislative backing and sustainable funding, possibly through the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

Upon completion, graduates would qualify for NYSC and COREN professional registration. The council also hopes that the residency year combined with NYSC service could count as two years of post-graduation experience toward professional certification.

Industry Support, Concerns Remain

Former President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, Dr Victor Oyenuga, welcomed the proposal as a long-overdue step toward improving professional standards.

However, he raised concerns about placement capacity, noting that many engineering firms struggle due to limited patronage and the concentration of contracts among a few politically connected organisations.

“Consulting must be based on competence, not political connections,” he said, warning that inactive firms may not provide meaningful training opportunities.

Young Engineers Express Doubts

Some younger professionals remain sceptical about implementation. Lagos-based electrical engineer John Ikechukwu recalled difficulties securing relevant placements during NYSC, citing overcrowding, nepotism, and non-engineers occupying available slots.

He acknowledged, however, that a properly structured residency scheme could improve employment prospects if firms are incentivised to retain competent trainees after completion.

Gender and Sectoral Challenges

Immediate past President of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Dr Elizabeth Eterigho, described the scheme as promising but highlighted structural barriers such as weak industry linkages, inadequate laboratories, and limited placement opportunities for disciplines outside civil engineering.

She warned that mismatched postings would undermine the programme’s purpose and called for a national framework with zonal placement centres to coordinate residency opportunities.

Need for Strong Collaboration

Stakeholders agree that for EREP to succeed, it must be supported by strong academia-industry partnerships, proper funding, accountability, and political will. Without these, critics fear it could become another well-intentioned policy undermined by poor execution.

If effectively implemented, however, the residency scheme could mark a turning point for engineering practice in Nigeria, producing graduates better equipped to meet industry demands and compete globally.