Dangote Cement Plc, last weekend, inducted 81 trainees in its Graduate Trainee programme to boost employment in the country. The company, it would be recalled, since the beginning of the programme, has inducted hundreds of such trainees into its service, across its African operations.

The Company also has rewarded its outstanding staff with ‘long Service Award’ and ‘Hall of Wall of Fame Employee Award’ for embracing the Dangote Cement core values of customer care, entrepreneurship, excellence and leadership quality. The staff that were awarded, with significant monetary value, has spent a minimum of five years in the employment of Dangote Cement

Speaking at the three-park event held at the weekend in Lagos to celebrate the long service winners, Hall of Fame awardees and graduate trainees, the chairman of Dangote Cement, Aliko Dangote said the event was to honour and appreciate “…our distinguished staff in the outgoing year of 2023.”

He said “We are honouring some of our staff for their long service to the company. We are also celebrating our graduate trainees who are officially rounding up their induction programme.”

According to Dangote, “…we are celebrating them for the tremendous progress the company recorded in 2023 despite the harsh operating environment and economic turbulence, your resilience and tenacity ensured that we surmounted many obstacles to achieve goals.

“More importantly, I would like to thank all of you for your commitment and high performance. It is your commitment that has helped us to retain our position as the dominant player in the Cement sector in Nigeria, not only in Nigeria but in Africa.”

Dangote chairman added “We have remained Africa’s leading cement producer with 52 million metric tonnes capacity per annum across the continent. We also have plans underway to commission our Cote d’Ivoire plants and work started for another six million tonnes in Itori, Ogun state.

“Through shared persistence, we have eliminated Nigerians' independence on imported cement and transformed our nation into an exporter of cement to several neighbouring countries. This same development will be repeated in the energy sector as our petrochemical refinery becomes fully operational in the next few months.”

He also said the Group is focused on breaking new ground with innovations and strategies that will drive businesses while at the same time creating value for its stakeholders, saying that “we want to transform and develop Nigeria and African economies to be self-reliant and net exporter of manufactured goods.”

Group managing director of Dangote Cement, Mr Arvind Pathak said that “the dedication and loyalty of our long-serving employees, the achievements of our talented graduate trainees and our Hall of Fame awardees, have displayed passion, innovation and excellence in service delivery.”

He stated that the event is to recognise and honour the unwavering commitment the staff have demonstrated over the years, saying “Your dedication has been the cornerstone of our success, and is the testimony of your hard work, resilience, and loyalty. Your journey with us is a testament to the values that bind us, and we look forward to many more of shared success.”

Pathak applauded the outstanding achievements of the current employees who received Hall of Fame awards as their hard work, innovation and commitment to excellence have not gone unnoticed as their colleagues have attested it by nominating them, saying that “you are part of our driving force behind our success and your dedication sets a standard for all of us to inspire.

He also congratulated the graduate trainees as they have completed a rigorous training programme that has equipped them with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the company.

“As you move forward in your career, remember that this is just a beginning, the road ahead may be challenging, but I have full confidence that each one of you will contribute significantly to the future success of the company. Continue to embrace your opportunity to learn, grow and make a positive impact on the Dangote Cement plants.

Pathak added that “as a learning organization, we also continue to provide numerous development opportunities to enhance the capabilities of our people, including professional certifications and mentorship schemes. our success is a collective effort and each one of us plays a vital role in our journey to remain the leader in the cement industry and build a sustainable future for Africa.”

The Group chief HR officer, Dangote Cement, Gloria Byamugisha said “We are operationalizing our employee value proposition in Dangote Cement, where we reward, recognise progress effort, values but most importantly, emulating humanity and an entrepreneurial spirit.”

She noted that two years ago, Dangote Cement restarted its graduate trainee programme and today 81 is graduating to add value to the organization.

Byamugisha shared the diverse nature of Dangote Cement, saying that “in DCP, we have at least 20 nationalities, in DCP we speak over 40 languages and we are the biggest employer right after the federal government of Nigeria.”

Also, the Programme manager for the graduate training of Dangote Cement, Mr. Haruna Adinoyi highlighted that “the Graduate Training Programme is for 18 months. We started in July 2022, intending to empower youth in the technical competencies fields in Nigeria especially. So, the trainees go through all the value chain in cement manufacturing.”

He added that “we will continue to help in managing their careers so that they remain with us and also build confidence as this will help in reducing the overlaps of foreign expertise.”

Responding on behalf of the Trainees, one of the trainees, Felix Ithootumhe thanked the management of the Group for the opportunity offered them by being selected to chart a good career path because Dangote Group is a leading conglomerate in Africa.

He said “The training has exposed us to different knowledge of the cement industry. Also, the training makes us align ourselves with the Company’s operations and business.”

Another trainee, Abduljabbar Mohammedusani added that “it is a wonderful 18 months journey, which was very challenging and rewarding at the same time. We have learnt a lot about how we can progress here at Dangote Cement plant.”

He said that Nigerian youths are skilled in their profession but this kind of training will add value, saying that in a few years to come, I believe Nigeria will not need to bring in expatriates as the skills needed can be sourced locally.

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