The Council in its bid to promote technical skills and infrastructure development in the automotive sector in the country, embarked on the construction of Twenty-One (21) automotive training centres across the six geo-political zones located in Zamfara, Sokoto, Ado- Ekiti, Ikorodu- Lagos, Osogbo, Lokoja, Abakaliki, Yobe, Kebbi, Gombe, Bauchi, Katsina, Kano, Abia, Ogun, Akwa-Ibom among others. Although some of them have been completed, a few are still on-going, under the supervision of engineers from the department.

Government is driving the shift  of the use of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) commonly referred to as petrol and diesel respectively in the automotive industry to cleaner and more environmentally friendly fuels. The inability of our mechanics to understand and repair these new generation vehicles in the country today, prompted the Council to commission a study on mechanic’s skill-gap analysis i.e. the difference between available know-how and the requirements of modern automobile maintenance and repairs in Nigeria. These findings further informed the Council to develop, in collaboration with other stakeholders, National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Conversion, Calibration and Maintenance of Auto Gas-Powered Vehicles in Nigeria and National Occupational Standards for Electric Vehicle Repairs and Maintenance in Nigeria in line with the current realities in the industry and to fit into National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) for Nigeria.

The process for the validation of the NOS by industry practitioners and approval by the regulatory authority is ongoing. When this is achieved it would be used to train auto technicians on the conversion, repair and maintenance of gas-powered vehicles as well as repair and maintenance of electric vehicles.

In the bid to tackle the challenges posed by dearth of modern technical skills in the automotive sector, the Council has been conducting skills upgrade and capacity building trainings. The trainings usually code-named “training on the repair and maintenance of heavy duty vehicles/tractors and specialized mechatronics training for auto technicians/youths”. The nesxt phase of the training is currently being planned and this is billed to commence in the next quarter.

Having developed a Curriculum for teaching of automotive engineering with the Nigerian Universities Commission, plans are on for the review of the curriculum to update it in line with current realities.

In furtherance of government’s desire to encourage research and development in EV technology in Nigerian universities, three additional Solar powered EV Charging stations projects are on –going in the following Universities; Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, University of Ilorin and Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun.

On the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), NADDC have awarded the contract for the supply of automotive mechatronics diagnostic equipment for seven (7) auto skills training Centre and three (3) service hubs. Equipment for these centres have been supplied in their respective locations. Currently, installation of equipment/tools is on- going in four (4) of the Centres, under the supervision of the department.

The Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the automotive industry was inaugurated in 2016 and has its secretariat at NADDC. It currently is involved in the following;

1. Development of operational standards for the auto industry.
2. It is also responsible for the accreditation of automotive training centre.
3. Performs monitoring and evaluation on automotive training to ensure compliance to established standards.

The Council regurlarly participates in various conferences and events of relevant of professional bodies, organistions and stakeholders such as the Nigerian Automotve Manufacturers Association, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN). Also, Trade Association such as National Automotive Technicians Association (NATA), Motor Mechanic Technicians Association of Nigeria (MOMTAN).